Fallout 4: Call to Arms
by theGhostflyer
Summary: IN the year 2077, civilization was destroyed in atomic fire. A small family manages to get to the safety of a vault just in time. Now, 210 years later, a single survivor embarks on a journey to save his son and enact vengeance upon those who have wronged him. Along the way, he will find that it's not all is at it seems. Eventual PiperxM!SS. Let's crawl out through the Fallout.
1. Chapter 1

So yeah...I'm alive. Been a really long time since I updated, but hey, I'm back. My muse is now on Fallout, so decided to write this. Thinking it'll be a novel like flow of the story. First off, before complaints are made, I have altered some of the fallout lore and the M/SS back story. He's not a solider, but a Marine. It makes more sense to me to be honest. I also tried to make Preston seem more...real. Not some naive guy with a laser musket. He's more of a hardened soldier that is dealing with depression and survivors guilty. Kinda hoping I portrayed that. Sole is the default name as well...it fits. Any way. Give it a read and a review. Thanks guys.

Where does any story begin? I suppose it should start at the beginning. But that begs the question. Where would I begin this story? I could always start with my life story. Simple American, born in Dayton Ohio on March 23, 2049. I was a pretty bright kid, but much to my parents dismay, I never fully applied myself. Mom always blamed that on why I joined the Corps at the age of seventeen. That or she blamed my Dad. Granted, the crusty old Marine always liked to say there was only one true branch of service in the world. No. The fault doesn't lay on him or me. It was, as I like to think, fate that took me to the door of the recruiter. Oh he spun a pretty tale of only being the boot for a few months before picking up rank and then being the boss. I guess my dumb ass bought it, even knowing he was full of it. So there I was, some out of shape kid showing up at Paris Island, not knowing just what I had gotten myself into. Looking back now...I don't regret it. In fact, the hardest part of all of it was just getting through the training. School of Infantry did suck, but it was a good kind of sucked. Not long after graduation, we were told we would be sent to the front lines in Alaska. The Chinese had dug their boots in and refused to give up their conquest in desperate need of the oil in the Yukon. I hated every moment of it. The cold bit at every piece of exposed flesh. The wind didn't help either. By '74, after several botched ops, lulls in the war while diplomats tried to weasel a way to a peace treaty, we got new orders.

Those orders saw me dropped into the deepest part of the shit. I guess the brass wanted to relieve the pressure on the Anchorage front, so freshly promoted to Staff Sergeant, me and my boys invaded the Chinese main land. Oh, we had help from our allies, but the Japanese had been hit hardest in the opening days of the War, and while damn good fighters, they just didn't have the numbers to help make a dent. For six months, we slugged it out in open fields, small villages, even managed to push into Shanghai for a few weeks. It was hell. Almost bought the farm twice before they rotated my unit, or what was left of it, back to the States for a month of leave before sending us to deal with riots that had sprung up around the nation. Turns out, shit had gone south back home too. It was during this time I met a woman. She didn't turn any heads so to speak, more of a plain beauty. One easily over looked. That month was the best of the War.

Of course, it wasn't love at first sight. More the slow burn kind. She'd write me while I was deployed. I send a holotape or two when I had the chance. Things just went from there. It wasn't until after we liberated Anchorage that I made the choice not to reenlist. So I mustered out, got my honorable and a nice retirement paycheck with it. It wasn't long until we decided to take the next step. Nora looked absolutely beautiful. I doubted I'd find any bride out there capable of overshadowing Nora. We started our life in Massachusetts together where Nora had a great job offer. And me? Well...it wasn't easy to fit into civilian jobs. Eventually I started work at the VA, dealing with other vets and such. Didn't pay as much as it should have, but it was enough with everything else.

Then, when I thought things couldn't get better, Nora told me she was pregnant. I was so happy, I doubted I made any sense to my parents on the phone. But they were able to figure out what was going on and were happy for us. They'd have loved to have met our baby. Unfortunately, they never would. Two months before our son was born, they were killed in a riot. Mom had been shopping with Dad when some bastard with a bomb detonated it at the Gas Station across the street. It had ignited the gas mains and took out several city blocks. They said the guy may have used a dirty bomb. I was devastated. Turned to Alcohol to help numb the pain for about three weeks before Nora put her foot down. With her help, I came around just in time for my son to be born.

The ten months following his birth, my boy, my beloved son Shaun became the bright light in my life. And then, it was ripped away. I can still remember that day. The day the world ended/ Maybe...maybe that is the true beginning of my story. The beginning of the end. Not sounded by trumpets, but by atomic fire. The day I'll never forget. October 23, 2077 is a day I will always curse...

-Recovered transcripts from US Military servers from DIA headquarters prior to the first bomb impacts-

/0023 20771023/COMPACFLT/

/Possible Sub Contact/USS OHIO/

/CAPTAIN ANDERSON, JAMES M/

Four USOS contacts on sonar. Unable to achieve positive identification. Possible Chinese stealth units operating fifty nautical miles off southern California coast line. Sending ASW assets to track and identify unknown contacts. SITREP to follow after ID is made.

/END/

/0310 20771023/USAF AWACS/

/HAUFO BERING STRAITS/COM TRANSCRIPTS/

/USAF AWACS SKYEYE/ ALTITUDE: 50,000 ASL/

/DEFCON SATUS: 3/

AWACS SKYEYE: SKYEYE to CONTROL. I HAVE SIX UNKNOWN CONTACTS ON RADAR.

CONTROL: SKYEYE, CONTROL. CONFIRM YOUR LAST.

AWACS SKYEYE: SIX UNKNOWN CONTACTS ON RADAR. CONTACTS COMING IN FROM 308, ALTITUDE IS 40,000.

CONTROL: ROGER SKYEYE. SCRAMBLING WARDOG TO INTERCEPT. SEND HOSTILE CHALLENGE AND MONITOR RADIO CHATTER FROM UNKNOWNS.

AWACS SKYEYE: UNDERSTOOD.

/END/

/0913 20771023/INODS EMERGENCY REPORT/

/PROBABLE WMD LAUNCHES DETECTED/

/TRAJECTORY ALPHA ONE: SAN DIEGO, CA

/TRAJECTORY ALPHA TWO: YUMA, AZ

/TRAJECTORY ALPHA THREE: AUSTIN, TX

/TRAJECTORY ALPHA FOUR: MEMPHIS, TN

/PROBABILITY OF CONFIRMATION: 92.8%

/ALERT STATUS RAISED TO: DEFCON TWO

/ALL NUCLEAR ASSETS ON HOT STAND BY

/AWAITING LAUNCH COMMAND

/END/

/0917 20771023/NORAD FLASH TRAFFIC/

/CONFIRMATION OF WMD WARHEADS INBOUND

/TARGET COUNT: 115

/RESPONSE SCENARIO PROTOCOL MX-CN91 HAS BEEN ENACTED

/RELEASE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED

/LAUNCH PROTOCOL HAS BEEN INITIATED

/PROJECT SAFEHOUSE: LOCK DOWN INITIATED

/ALL US MILITARY UNITS: NOVEMBER ROMEO DELTA 1020.34 XRAY IS IN EFFECT.

/GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

/END/

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was a beautiful morning, especially for October. Barely a chill in the air and the leaves had only begun to change in color. In the small suburban neighbor hood, Halloween decorations dotted the homes of the residents. In a small two bedroom home, a rather ordinary looking man in his mid twenties toweled his face off as he recited his speech once more, hoping it sounded decent.

"You're gonna knock them dead at the Veterans Hall tonight."

The man, of average build, with blue eyes and dark brown hair, glanced at his wife's reflection in the mirror before turning to face her directly.

"You think?"

She smiled brightly at him, her brown eyes alight as she made her way over to him.

"Absolutely. Now stop hogging the mirror." She teased, gently pushing him out of the way so she could get ready herself.

He let out a chuckle and decided to grab a cup of coffee before he finished getting dressed. A short walk down the hall found himself face to face with Codsworth, his newest best friend, but only because he made the coffee just right. The man nodded and gave the Mister Handy a nod as he took a sip of the beverage and looked through the paper as the news played in the background. He had finished his cup as Nora entered the kitchen, looking for some herself. He found it adorable how she seemed to almost melt at the first sip. He was about to poke fun at her for it when the buzzer sounded. Nora glanced at the door before sighing.

"It's that Vault Tec salesman again. He's been coming by everyday to speak to you about something."

The man gave his own sigh as he put his cup down and answered the door. A rather cheer yet nervous looking man greeted him with a flourish. Who wears a bright yellow suit? The man almost missed what the rep was saying when the guy went through his song and dance about how the bombs would be coming.

"So what will this cost me?"

The man seemed taken aback before answering.

"Why, nothing of course. This is the residence of a Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Johnson, correct?"

The man nodded his head, making the rep seem to relax. Maybe he thought he had rung the wrong house. Nate nodded his affirmative to the question, which brought back the cheerful nature of the Rep, which he had to admit, was border line creepy.

"Thanks to your honorable and steadfast service to our great country, you have been preapproved for entry into the local vault! Vault 111!"

"And that includes my wife and son, right?"

"Of course! There is plenty of room for your family! Excluding any robots you may have of course. Now, all I need from you, sir, is a simple signature on these five forms. If you want the spot of course."

Nate paused for a moment before shrugging.

"What the hell. It couldn't hurt to be prepared." He stated, taking the clip board and signing the forms.

The Rep seemed to approve of his attitude.

"That's the spirit! Now I'll go and get these filed at the vault for you. And may I say, you have made an excellent choice! You have yourself a good day!"

The Rep seemed to be in quite a hurry as he headed to his truck. Nate blinked before closing the door and shaking his head. Nora seemed amused and teased him about the hassle he had to go through of signing his name. Any retort he had for his lawyer wife was cut off by a shrill cry and a sheepish Codsworth stating that Shaun was being fussy and needed some paternal comfort. Nate knew it was his turn, not that it mattered and headed to calm his young son down before they truly began the day. He entered the small, modest room that his son resided in and moved to the crib, smiling down at the baby that only moments ago had been so fussy.

"Hey little guy. Why so fussy?" He asked.

The response from the infant was a happy gurgle followed by a toothless grin. Nate chuckled as Nora slipped into the room, leaning against the door way.

"How are my two favorite men in my life doing?" She asked.

He smirked at her.

"I'll make sure to tell your Dad you said that."

She snorted before moving to the other side of the crib and hefting Shaun into her arms. Nate simply smiled, watching the two most important people in his world. He almost missed Nora's suggestion about the park and decided to let his playful nature take effect.

"I don't know. Can we afford a second child?"

Nora's cheeks took a red tint as she huffed at him in a playful manner.

"Daddy is just begging to be banished to the couch, isn't he?"

Shaun for his part, just giggled happily before an alarmed call from the front room caught Nate's ear.

"Sir! Mum! You should come and see this!"

"Codsworth? What's wrong?"

Nate followed Nora out to the hall, and made their way to the front room. Nate could hear the news broadcast, moving closer to the TV to see the fearful reporter's face. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and moved to the window to see his neighbors hauling ass toward the Vault, complete with Military helicopters and the new, yet well received Vertibirds flying over Sanctuary Hills. His blood ran cold and his stomach dropped when the Anchor began speaking again.

"We...we've received unconfirmed reports of an attack in progress. We...we are trying to confirm. Reports indicate bright flashes...sounds of explosions...Wait, we are getting word now..."

Nate saw the look of pure terror on the Anchor's face set in as the man continued speaking.

"W-we just received word that...that New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. have been shit by multiple Nuclear strikes...Oh my God..."

The screen flashed out as the numbness that had been overtaking Nate was banished. He quickly looked to Nora, the fear in her eyes was all he needed to energize himself into action.

"We need to get to the vault. Now!"

Nora blinked and nodded, heading for the front door as quickly as she could. Nate moved to follow before he looked to Codsworth.

"Stay safe buddy. We will be back." He promised.

What ever it was Codsworth replied with, Nate didn't know. He caught up to his wife and the pair hurried to the vault site that overlooked the whole of Sanctuary Hills. The trip only took a minute, but it felt like hours as they passed weeping people along the path, or in some cases, feuding couples. They approached the gates as they heard the Vault Tec rep argue with the gate guard, who looked to be a Captain in the National Guard. Nate took the chance to move up through the gap made from people scattering out of the line of attack from one of the power armored guards that had spun up his mini-gun to fire. The Captain looked at Nate as the man approached.

"Sir, we need to get in. We are on the List."

"Name?"

"Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Johnson."

The Captain's eyes darted to the clipboard and nodded, moving out of the way for the family.

"They're clear." The Captain placed a hand on Nate's shoulder with a small nod. "Best of luck Staff Sergeant."

"Orah, sir."

Nate followed after his wife and the Vault Tec guard as they hurried to the main lift that would take them to the Vault. Over head, F-35 Talons screamed through the sky, angling upwards. Nate felt his mouth go dry. If the fast attackers were aiming upwards...

"Oh shit. The bomb is almost here!" He called to the Guard.

The guard quickly motioned them to the platform as he sprinted to the elevator controls. The Guard must have also realized what the fighters soaring up into the clouds meant. Nate pulled Nora and Shaun close, hearing Nora praying that God would lend them strength and protection.

"I love you. Both of you."

Nora let out a shaky sob as the world around them seemed to slow down to a stand still.

"We love you too."

Nate would never know what possessed him to look in the direction of Natick, but the memory would be forever burned into his mind. A sudden, bright flash of light, so bright he quickly closed his eyes. Followed the sound of a massive explosion. He opened his eyes as the panic took full force. The Guards were screaming to send the elevator down, the people on the platform were screaming in terror, and there was Nate, strangely calm as he saw the approaching shock wave from the explosion. Time still seemed to crawl as the elevator finally began its decent into the underground vault. Nate covered Nora and Shaun with his body as the blast wave passed over them as the exterior doors sealed shut.

Nate only had one thought.

 _Now what?_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He felt himself awaken. The stiffness in his body and the bone deep chill. It rushed back to him. The ride into the vault, the bomb dropping, the rushed through the vault into this damned pod...everything. He coughed and opened his eyes, rubbing them from the sting of the harsh cold and mist that was clearing. He shook his head and looked through the frosted over porthole. He could barely make out two people by his wife's pod. Were they being released? Had the war ended? Was the surface even safe? He pushed those thoughts aside and banged on his pod door. He watched as Nora's pod was opened, and saw she was okay. She seemed out of it, but who knew how long they had been in these pods. It didn't take Nate long to see something was wrong. The man had a pistol in his hand, trying to placate Nora as what he guessed was a woman was trying to take Shaun from her.

"What..." He rasped out. "How long...?"

His hoarse voice echoed in the pod as more and more energy came to him. He saw Nora struggle to keep Shaun in her arms.

"I'm not giving you my baby you bastards!" She screamed as the man pointed his gun at Nora.

"YOU HURT HER AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Nate roared, slamming his shoulder into the hatch the best he could, hoping he could break it open.

"I'm only going to tell you this once. Let the boy go."

"GO TO HELL!" She screamed.

The gun shot rang out, piercing the silent room as Nora went limp, sliding back into her pod as the Hazard suit wearing woman hurried away with Shaun. Nate felt his heart shatter and a moment later, tears burned down his cheeks. A deep rage settled into him quickly.

"NO! YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU! I'M GONNA GUT YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" He slammed harder, the throbbing pain in his hands and shoulder numbed by the sheer burning rage.

The bald man walked up to his pod and Nate slammed his fist against the glass, causing the bald man to frown before he walked off, saying something about him being a spare. He felt the cold settling into him again. Nate roared in fury before the darkness claimed him once more.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He smelt the barbecue and felt the warm summer air creasing his face. Around him, the sounds of summer rang through the streets as children played and neighbors enjoyed the weather. He looked over from his patio chair and saw Nora walking towards him, smiling with a beer just for him. He smiled and took the cold drink from her.

"It's time to get up Nate."

He looked at her confused.

"You need to get up honey. There-"

His eyes snapped open as the speakers blared their warning.

"-has been a failure in the cryogenic array. All vault residents are to evacuate Vault 111 immediately."

He shook his head, gasping as as the pod hatch popped open with a groan and lifted. Nate started forward, only to find his body was sluggish and stiff, making his landing on the hard concrete floor all the more painful. A sharp pain in his shoulder brought back the horrible truth to his mind as he looked up, silently hoping what he had witnessed was a nightmare. That his wife was alive with Shaun in her arms, waiting for pod to open. Nate clumsily climbed to his feet and staggered to the pod controls. He hurriedly looked over the console and spotted the red lever that would activate the manual release. The seals broke with the mass of swirling gas.

"Come on. Come on." He chanted as the hatch slowly rose. His heart dropped and the hope he had that it was a nightmare vanished.

Nora laid were she had fallen. The bullet had passed through her heart, killing her instantly. Tears fell as he moved Nora to a more peaceful position. He took her ring and kissed her frozen lips once more before he re sealed her pod.

"I'll get the son of a bitch who did this, and I'll get back Shaun. I promise."

Nate took a shuddering breath before wiping his eyes and headed for the exit. Spotting a terminal, he quickly looked over the status of the other pods, as the computer had been left logged in. A minute of looking over each pod showed he was the only survivor. Shock rippled through him as he exited the room, into the hall that led to the exit.

"Am I all that's left?" He asked himself as he tried to main door.

"ALERT. RELEASE FAILURE. PLEASE CONTACT A VAULT TEC MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE."

"Great. Another fine Vault Tec product." He muttered and headed for the door to his right.

The side passage led on a winding path through the rest of the vault which included a sleeping area that granted him more access to information on the vault, including a log of the Security Chief.

"Cryo storage. Why the hell would Vault Tec do this? They were supposed to keep us safe." He snarled out, wishing he could wring the neck of the yellow trench coated bastard that promised them safety.

Nate pushed on, finding an old Security Baton. Not much in the way of personal defense, but it would work until he found something better. Which is what he wished for right after he opened the next door. Staring him down from across the room was a two foot long cockroach, its antenna twitching in his direction. With some weird screech, it scurried towards him. Nate stumbled back and swung the baton at the creature.

"Holy shit!" He cried out as the Baton made contact with the bug in mid jump.

The impact sent it flying into the wall it hit with a disgusting crunch. Nate stared at the bug for a moment.

"Giant...cockroaches...Okay." He muttered as he continued forward.

He ran into a few more of the giant bugs before he came across the overseers office. He was very pleased to find an 10mm pistol with three magazines on the desk, along with half a dozen Stimpacks. A once over showed him the main terminal was active and still logged in, just like the other six he had found. The mutiny, as the Overseer had called it, seemed to have been rather thorough, making him wonder if anyone had gotten out. He pushed his thoughts aside and focused on his task. Which was to get out of this...this tomb. He found the override for the escape tunnel and activated the program, happy to hear the lock from across the room release. He froze as the door opened and the now familiar screech reached his ears.

"Damn it." He muttered, readying his newly acquired side arm.

He didn't need to wait long as the first roach came skittering into the office through the door, only to be greeted by a 10mm bullet through it's body. The sharp pistol report brought more to the door, forcing Nate to pick them off as they appeared. The only tight spot was one that managed to get by it's dead brothers and took a running jump at him. Nate used his free hand and back handed the bug away long enough to put the sights on it. He squeezed and the pistol bucked once more in his hand, blowing a nice sized chunk out of the mutated pest. The Marine swung his weapon back to the door, waiting to see if anymore would show, but after a few minutes, nothing else poked it's head in to see what made the noise.

Nate carefully made his way past the carcasses in the door jam and followed the tunnel until it deposited him in the main entry way. The same entry way he had used only God knew how long. His eyes hardened at that. No...no God. God wouldn't have let this happen. Wouldn't have caused this much suffering. Just as that thought crossed his mind, the words of his Grandma echoed through his head. 'God has a plan. We may not agree with it at times, but there is a reason. Your struggles are challenges for you to over come. To gain strength from. You must have faith.' The man cleared his head and moved quickly to what looked to him as the main control panel for the vault door and was pleased to see he was right.

He wasn't pleased to see it needed a Pipboy to open but that problem remedied itself in the form of the skeletal remains of the Vault Doc that had ushered them into the cryo pod sporting s new hole between the eyes. He bent down and grabbed the Pipboy, checking it over it over to make sure it wasn't damaged, which he was happy to see it wasn't. He took one last look at the remains before he put it on.

"Karma is a bitch, huh Doc?"

Nate quickly put the Pipboy on, and activated the start up process, waiting out the boot cycle as he cleared the screen of as much dust and grime as he could. The annoying Pipboy image appeared before it started the new user log in. Something that had always bugged Nate about them was how they tended to track user's vitals to the letter. Hell, the thing was able to tell if you had cancer just by its bio-metric sensors. And unfortunately for him, he had a feeling he'd need this little bastard even after he left the vault. And to leave the vault to hunt down the bastards that killed his wife and took his son, he had to set up this Pipboy for his use.

"Okay...User Name...Nate. Keep it short I guess." He muttered. "Password...eight characters...no spaces...one special...okay. V.A.T.S? What the hell is that?" He wondered out loud.

 _"Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System grants Vault-Tec Security Teams the edge needed to keep tomorrow safe today! Utilizing advanced neural interface technology, this V.A.T.S. System is capable of using real time targeting data analysis to help improve accuracy and reaction times of Vault-Tec Security Teams in a crisis situation._

"Hmm...that does sound handy." Nate mumbled, taping the activation sequence.

He regretted it moments later as an unholy pain shot into his arm. The blazing pain worked up through his arm, into his head and his eyes. Nate fell to the ground, screaming in pain and gripping his head. What felt like an eternity, but lasted only minutes passed. Nate took in deep lungful of air as the pain faded. He had almost blacked out from the pain. He glanced at the Pipboy and was ready to tear it off at the next display.

 _"Be advised, non Vault-Tec Security personal are advised to keep V.A.T.S. Disabled due to required nanite injection to link neural functions to on board sensor systems. Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec."_

Nate muttered a few choice words about Vault-Tec as he made his way to control panel, slipping the control key into the slot, and unlocking the primary door controls. He suddenly wondered if the controls would even still work. He really didn't know how long he'd been on ice, but he figured it couldn't be that long. At least he hoped. Shaking that thought aside, Nate slapped the ignition switch and stood back to watch the massive rotor mount roll forward and began moving the massive lead and steal door. Nate felt the air rush by him and into the elevator shaft, quickly pressurizing it. Nate made his way to the elevator, stepping onto the rusted platform. He took one last look behind him, saying a silent good bye to his wife as the lift took him to the surface.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"A bit over 210 actually. What with minor changes to the Earth's rotation and a few dings to the ole chronometer, sir."

Shock didn't begin to describe Nate's feeling of numbness. He had been on ice for over two hundred years. Two hundred. He couldn't believe it. To be honest though, he really couldn't believe Codsworth was still in one piece after all this time. Nate felt his knees get weak and slid to the ground, still processing what he had just been told. Another thing to put on his weird shit list. He took a shaky breathe as Codsworth became alarmed at his demeanor.

"Sir, are you alright? Shall I ring the misuses?" He asked on a concerned tone.

Nate felt a sharp pain in his heart at the mention of his wife and confusion at Codsworth apparent memory glitch. And if Nate was right, phones would be completely fried from the massive EMP he knew would have ravaged the world. It clicked in his head that Codsworth was acting off.

"Codsworth...are you okay? You seem...strange." Nate admitted, getting back onto his feet.

"I-I..." Codsworth seemed close to breaking point. "Oh sir. It's been terrible! No one to talk to or serve for 200 years! My purpose for exsistance was non exsistant! It almost drove me mad, sir! I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors waxed! But nothing gets nuclear fallout out of vinyl wood...Nothing!"

Nate watched as his robot friend had the robot equivalent of a nervous break down.

"And let's not even talk about the futility of dusting a collapsing house. And the Car! How do you polish rust!"

"Whoa buddy. Stay with me Codsworth. Its gonna be okay."

Codsworth seemed to calm down and it made Nate wonder if Codsworth had become a fully sentient being as he could sense the depression coming off the poor robot.

"I...I really don't know anything that's happened around the world. The bombs came, and you headed to the vault, and it all happened so quickly. I feared you had been killed sir."

"But you stayed here. Why Codsworth? Why stay if you thought we were dead?" Nate asked.

"I...I guess it was fear sir. Fear of not finding anyone else alive. Once I came back online following the massive EMP from the bombs, I had found it was two weeks after. I am truly thankful that General Atomics had the foresight of installing a secondary system to take over if my primary was disabled." Nate agreed with the Robot. "I did venture into Concord a few times of the years, though the inhabitants seemed to always greet me with gunfire." He mentioned.

"There are still people living in Concord?" Nate asked, a plan already taking form in his mind.

Codsworth seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him.

"Of course sir! There may be some one there to help you track down young Shaun!"

Nate smirked and nodded before looking at the house. A thought came to him.

"Codsworth, has anyone been in the house since we left?" He asked.

"No one sir. I haven't seen another person step foot in Sanctuary since the bombs fell." He paused, processing where his Master was going with this. "Are you intending to access the safe sir?"

"I am. Stay here and keep watch buddy. I need to get dressed," He ordered him.

He heard Codsworth's reply but paid it no mind as he entered his home and headed down the hall to the utility room. The sounds of creaking metal greeted him as the sight of his destroyed home brought a swell of lose to him. This house had been a gift from his parents when he and Nora had gotten married. She had loved it. And now...now it was a rotting husk of what it had once been. He thought that offhandedly he could fix it up. He'd need a place to raise Shaun that was safe and secure. And that brought the nasty thought that even if he settled back here with his son, he'd need to set up some kind of defenses to protect from any other kind of mutated critters would be running around. Or people looking to take his shelter from him. Nate pushed those thoughts aside and pulled the washer free from it's hoses to get to the false floor cover he had placed over the safe. Nora hadn't known about his little side project of converting part of the crawlspace into a sealed safe, keeping a set of combat armor, uniforms, weapons, and ammo. He also had enough food to last six months for three people. Well, with it just being him, it gave him eighteen months of rations, which he could probably ration to double that. Who knew what would still be safe to eat around here.

Nate opened the safe and was pleased to see the contents were very well preserved. With more than enough space, the Marine lowered himself into the safe and made his way to the wall locker holding his combat gear. Two sets of woodlands and two sets of deserts with a full set of combat armor. Nate took his Pipboy off, thankful it wasn't one of the bio-metrically locked ones, along with the vault suit, quickly stripping down to nothing. He grabbed a set of skivvy shorts and a skivvy shirt along with a pair off boot socks, boot blousing, and his combat boots and began getting dressed. After a few minutes of getting presentable, he quickly doned his combat armor, placing the helmet on the utility room floor, before he headed to his weapons locker. He pulled the locker open and grabbed the M16A4 he had gotten from a gun show a few years before the bombs fell. He'd gotten it as he had heard how much his Grandfather had talked about the rifle to the point Nate had thought he was in love with the design. Which he was corrected that is was more of a love hate relationship. He slung the rifle, barrel down across his back and attached the hip holster carrying the M1911 that had been passed down since his Great Great Grandfather. His assault pack, which to him had been repacked and stocked with ammo and food last week, was right where he had left it

The man gathered his gear and climbed out of his safe, making sure to close and lock it, and headed to the front door. Codsworth took in his new appearance and seemed to understand what was going through the man's head.

"Sir, if I may?" Nate nodded for him to go ahead. "I know I am no Mister Gutsy, but if you wish, I can accompany you to Concord."

Nate thought about it. It would be nice to have someone he trusted to watch his back, but logic dictated that it wouldn't be safe for Codsworth and Nate would risk losing the last link to his old life.

"Actually Codsworth, I have another mission for you." He paused and looked around the neighborhood.

It was mostly intact with a few homes destroyed. But...it had potential to be a good spot to live.

"We need to get this place cleaned up and ready for when I finally get Shaun back. That means fixing up the house and setting up some sort of protection from the local wildlife. I need you to do that for me buddy." Nate looked Codsworth right in the eyes. "And if I can find us some help or other survivors, I 'll be bringing them back with me. But," He stated firmly, "Only allow someone access with the pass phrase 'Tun Tavern'. Anyone else is to be labeled as hostile and treated as such. Do you understand?"

Codsworth seemed to stand straighter...well float straighter.

"Crystal sir. I shall endevour to bring this place into a more presentable condition. And I shall be waiting for your victorious return sir!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nate moved slowly towards the sounds of gun fire. To him it seemed to be coming from the museum in town. Though Nate wondered what kind of idiot backed themselves into a museum Too many points of entry to cover to be secure. He winced slightly from the bite wound that he'd gotten from the over-sized mosquito he'd literally run into after meeting some mutant rodents that tried to eat him. A whimper at his side from his newest companion brought him back to reality. The dog he had found at Red Rocket. The pup was very helpful to him in sniffing out useful items or in the case now, potential trouble. Nate readied his rifle and peaked around the corner, and saw what looked like five potential hostiles taking potshots at some guy in a duster with a laser rifle. Nate hesitated. He didn't know who was really the bad guy here. For all he knew, these five guys on the street could be some sort of law enforcement and the guy with the laser rifle could be some kind of convict. However, the shouts of he guessed the leader answered his question as to who was innocent, and who were dead men walking.

"Give it up musket boy. We got you holed up with limited ammo, while we have more guys on the way. We are going to squash the rest of you like we did your pals at Quincy!"

"As long as I draw breath, I will not abandon these people nor will I surrender!"

"Your funeral musket boy. I'm gonna enjoy the screams of you being skinned alive while I have my fun with that little dark haired bitch you got with you!"

Nate approved of the duster wearing man's response of nailing one of the assholes in the face with a full laser blast. It was artfully done in Nate's opinion. But the Marine knew he had limited time to help this guy and decided to make the most of his advantage over this dumb asses packed up by the museum. He hurriedly moved from his spot and made for the next section of sandbags for a better firing position. He'd prefer going to a more elevated position, but time was limited for him. Nate brought his rifle up and switched the selector to semi-auto and placed the ACOG sight on the head of the wanna be hard ass he heard yelling early. The rifle barely moved in Nate's rock steady hands, but the sound of the 5.56 leaving the barrel caught everyone elses attention. The round caught hard ass in the back of his grape, dropping him like a puppet with it's strings cut. The other gang members seemed too surprised to move, which allowed Nate to line up a second shot before they got smart and ducked. Another round left the chamber and tore right into the throat of Mister Road Goggles, leaving the final one, a man with a lather strap and some kind of metal brace over his left shoulder turning and snapping off a pair of potshots that impact high and to the right of where Nate was sitting. Before the Marine could return fire, a laser blast relieved the braced one of his head.

Nate moved up quickly, knowing that these guys had some more buddies coming and kept his rifle aimed at the dirt so not to incur the wraith of duster man as he was now calling the laser rifle wielding man. Laser man sounded pretty cool though.

"Hey you! I got four civvies up here with me and raiders trying to get in. Grab that laser musket and help us! Please!"

Nate looked down at the weapon Duster man pointed at and examined it. Looked like some kind of self made laser rifle with a crank. Nate tried it and was surprised to see the glass bubble glow red with energy.

"Okay," He muttered, grabbing a few of the fusion cells he saw before heading into the church.

He immediately regretted it as gunfire greeted him from the third and second floor. Nate cursed and stuck to cover as a few rounds impacted the wood pillar and floor in his general area. He hoped that these raiders were just as lousy of a shot as the five that had died in the street outside and made his move with a lull in the weapons fire. He sighted on the dumb ass hanging halfway out on the third floor and pulled the trigger. The red beam of energy speared through where the man's left lung would and out of his back, close enough to the spine to destroy the nerve endings from the sheer heat. A scream followed by a sickening crack let Nate know the raider had fallen off the third floor and probably slammed head first into the first floor. He slipped back into cover and gave the crank another turn and popped back out to catch the shooter the the second floor in the face. Not even bothering to try the gate in front of him, Nate shot into the the doorway to his right well aware it was an interactive display of the Revolutionary War. He kept his wits about him as he passed several display that could have a raider behind it and entered the last room, only to drop behind the nearest display half a second after entering. The mannequin behind him exploded in a shower of plastic and wood from the shotgun blast that had been aimed at his head.

Nate cursed as he looked at the now damaged laser musket. He must have cracked the bubble when he took cover.

"Guess it's back to the basics." He muttered, pulling his M1911 from it's holster.

He popped out of cover and his pistol found itself buried in the rather large bust of the shotgun raider. The young girl seemed surprised, too surprised to pull the trigger, but Nate didn't and he pulled the trigger, sending a round into her chest. The girl gasped in pain briefly before dropping to the ground, the bullet having entered and destroyed her heart. A mostly painless death,.

Nate didn't wait to see if she had possibly survived and continued forward, seeing that the first floor by the stairwell had collapsed into the basement, leaving the primary generator open to all. Nate glanced at it and figured it'd help in the long run to power the house at Sanctuary. He scurried down and to the cage while the dog watched his back for anything dumb enough to try to catch a Marine from behind. Nate saw he had two choices. He could plug the Pipboy in and have it crack the password, or he could pick the lock. Sensing speed was the key here, Nate plugged the wrist mounted computer in and watched as the cracking software began it's work. With in fifteen seconds, it broke the password and allowed him to access the gate controls.

He grabbed the F.C. And made his way up to the second floor. Nate kept low and his pistol out as he caught the sound of two raiders arguing about whether to abandon their posts or not. Nate made the decision for them by a bullet to the head of the one by the busted out wall and a well placed palm strike to the nose of the other, killing him by sending bone into his brain. The Marine hustled on after going through the duffel bag that the two dead raiders had been going through and was happy to find two boxes of 24 rounds for his sidearm. No extra ammo for his rifle, but Nate could always restock at the house if he had to. He stopped that line of thought. Just what the hell was he doing? Helping strangers over finding his son? What did he owe this world anymore when it had thoroughly screwed him over. He stood up and looked at the mural dedicated to the U.S. Military men and woman who had died in the line of duty. Looking upon the mural Nate felt his resolve solidify, Yes he needed to get his son back, but he had a duty to defend the citizens of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. And last he checked, his oath never had an expiration date.

Nate squared his shoulders and nodded to himself.

"Alright. Time to show these raiders why you don't take pot shots at a U.S. Marine."

A short trip up the stairs brought him to a wall with a few holes through it. Nate had an idea of how to deal with the last two raiders with little risk to his health. Nate pulled his combat knife out and made his way to the door. This would be tricky because if he missed, well, nothing would stop these assholes from putting holes in him. He heard the foot steps approach the door he standing near. It swung open and Nate waited until the first idiot walked into the hallway.

"-one is shooting up our guys needs a-GAH!"

Nate timed it perfectly. He moved like a viper, bringing his arm over the raiders right shoulder and slamming the knife into his chest, pulling the raider to his chest to act as a meat shield. Nate turned both of them around quickly enough for the other raider to accidentally put a shotgun blast into his buddy's chest. The Shotgun Guy looked horrified at what he had done, allowing Nate to put a .45 into his grape. He yanked his knife out of the now useless meat shield and wiped the blade on the ragged and torn pants.

"Amateurs." Nate muttered as he slipped his knife back into the chest scabbard.

"I don't know who you are but your timing is impeccable." Duster man said from the door way down from him. "Get in here quickly."

Nate motioned for the dog to follow him and the pair entered the small office where Nate saw the people he'd just saved. Duster man seemed a little on edge but considering it was literally just him protecting all five of them, Nate could understand.

"Well, that was fun." He commented. "Now, who are you people?"

"I'm Preston Garvey. Commonwealth Minutemen." The man now identified as Preston responded, holding out his hand.

Nate grasped it and gave a firm shake,

"Staff Sergeant Johnson. Did you say Minutemen? As in the Revolutionary Citizen Soldiers?" Nate asked.

"I'm impressed. Not many know any history before the Great War."

Nate cocked an eyebrow.

"Great War? What are you talking about?"

Preston seemed taken aback before giving a rather snarky reply.

"The one that turned our planet into a wasteland? Where have you been for the past few centuries? Under a rock?"

Nate sent Preston a rather level look.

"Actually yes. I've been on ice in a vault since the bombs dropped." He snapped back.

Preston blinked before rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"Damn. First off...I'm sorry. We've been on the run since Quincy was overrun last month." He gave a defeated sigh before he continued. "We made it out with fifteen of us. Yesterday, we had eight. Now...now it's just the five of us."

Nate recognized the thousand yard stare. He had it every once in a while himself. It hadn't been a problem since after Shaun was born, but he could recognize the signs of a soldier near the edge of no return.

"It's fine Garvey. Sounds like you were neck deep in the shit." Nate responded.

Preston nodded and returned his tired gaze to the Marine.

"Look, I'd love to tell you our whole history, but we have more pressing concerns. The Raiders have more men coming, and while I'm a good shot, I can't handle getting these people to safety on my own." He glanced behind him as a young Asian woman wrapped her arm around a weeping man. "We need your help, if you can give us a hand."

Nate glanced at the people and nodded. He had already made a vow to himself to up hold his duty as a Marine as well as a father. And right now, he needed these people to help him accomplish his quest to get his son back.

"Alright Garvey. I'm in. What's your plan?"

Preston looked extremely relieved and turned to the man that was going over the blue prints on a computer terminal.

"Sturges. Give our new friend the run down. I'm gonna keep an eye on the streets to see when Gristle decided to poke his ugly head out."

"Can do boss." The younger man quipped, turning to face Nate. "Well now muscles. Let me give you the gist of our rather brilliant plan. You may have spotted the crashed vertibird on the roof of this here museum. Now before those Raiders dicks showed up, I managed to get a good look at some of the goodies left behind." He leaned back, a cheerful grin on his face. "Seems one of the passengers left a seriously sweet gift up there. I'm talking a full suit of T-51E Power Armor."

Nate let out a low whistle.

"That's one hell of a good piece of salvage. The 51s were well balanced. I like where this is going." Nate grinned.

Sturges smirked.

"Yeah, I though ya might. Only problem is, the reactor is offline. Looked like the last user did a hard shut down of it's systems, meaning the fusion reactor needs a kick start so to speak." Sturges explained.

Nate frowned, thinking back to the briefs they had gotten when the T-51Ds has been issued out. Unlike the 45s and early 51 models, the reactor system in the Deltas, Echos, and Foxtrots only required a fusion core to bring the main reactor online. Once the initial fusion charge activated, the F.C. Acted as an emergency back up power supply if the main reactor was either disabled or overheated. Sturges guessed what he was thinking.

"We need the Fusion Core from the basement to get the main reactor running. Only problem is, the damn thing is locked behind a security gate," He explained.

Nate smiled and fished the core out of his cargo pocket.

"Not anymore. I grabbed it thinking I could use it to help restore my home to working order."

"Well I'll be damned. Guess that means I might as well get to the best part then huh?" He chuckled. "Thee Vertibird also has a single mini-gun left on her. Best guess is the other was ripped off during the crash, but that's fine anyway. Just use the suit and rip the last one from the mount. Since it has a manual trigger, you shouldn't have any trouble using the mini-gun like a rifle."

"How many rounds are on board?" Nate asked.

Sturges' brow furrowed as he thought about it.

"It had one drum loaded and I saw one spare drum in the seat by it. So...I'd say maybe a thousand rounds."

Nate was about to compliment Sturges on the plan when a short curse followed by a gun shot interrupted him. Preston cranked his rifle and took a shot through the window.

"Damn! Gristle is here and he has quite a few buddies with him." Preston growled, ejecting the spent fusion cell.

Nate slid into cover by the window and took a quick look using the V.A.T.S. System on his Pipboy. That two seconds was all he need before he ducked back down with a grim look.

"I counted at least a twelve foot mobiles."

Preston cranked his rifle and looked to Nate.

"Get your ass to the roof and get the Armor going. Once you're up there, it's your choice on how you want to engage them. I'll cover you best I can from here but..." He trailed off as he sent another laser beam at the approaching raiders.

Nate knew what he was getting at and turned to Sturges, tossing him his rile.

"Use that to help Preston out!" He ordered, dropping his assault pack. "Spare mags are in the pack. I'm gonna want that back once we get done here!" He called out, dropping his helmet on the couch by the door.

Nate didn't hear what Sturges said in reply as he moved quickly to the roof stair well. He damn near ripped the rotting door off it's hinges in his rush, and took the stairs up, two at a time, as the adrenaline coursed through his body. Nate quickly found himself shattering the last door and emerging on the roof. The sounds of laser blasts and gunshots echoed around him as the sky grew darker,. The Marine moved to the armor before him, and quickly slapped the core into the armor. Thirty agonizing seconds later, the armor came to life. A quick twist released the armor locks and it opened wide for him to step into it. Nate felt at home once the armor sealed around him with the heads up display flickering on. He ran a quick systems diagnostic, satisfied that most of the suit appeared to be in good shape, minus the left leg knee joint, which he guess was a bit rusted, and the right shoulder pauldron. Again, it was still at eighty percent integrity. Nothing short of of high caliber weapons would be able to do more than scratch the paint. The fusion reactor showed it was up to a sixty percent charge and still climbing. Nate rolled his shoulders and started forward, not even bothering to keep low. The min-gun was right where Sturges said it would be. A quick yank removed the 5mm death spewing machine from it's mount. Grabbing the spare drum, Nate started forward to the edge of the roof so see what he was facing. Sure enough, most of the raiders were near the sandbags across from the museum.

He guessed the other four were hanging back in reserve. He smirked. Their mistake. The steel encased man took a powered leap off the building and slammed into the road just in front of the nearest sand bag wall. Debris went flying as the impact cratered the road. He rose to his full height and swung the gun toward the group in front of him that had been knocked backwards from his impact. The male, maybe twenty or so summed up all their thoughts.

"Ah shit."

The min-gun roared to life, cutting the six in front of him down in a matter of moments. Nate turned himself to get a good angle on the other two nearest to him.

"No one said they had power armor!" The one Nate guessed was Gristle.

Again, hot death spewed from the weapon, cutting the other two down. Expecting the last four to rush him, Nate was surprised to see the steel grate he had passed earlier shoot up from the ground and some sort of demonic looking creature rose from the hole. The four other hostiles turned and aimed their weapons at the creature.

"DEATHCLAW!"

The Marine thought the name apt as it quickly moved in on a young blonde girl and quickly ripped her head from her shoulders. Not needing to be told what the bigger threat was, Nate brought the mini gun to bare and tracers were sent flying. The beast slashed another raider in half, this one had been wearing a gas mask of all things, when the rounds began pelting it's rather tough hide. The Deathclaw roared in anger and spun to face this new threat. Nate braced his stance as the barrels began to glow red from the amount of rounds passing through. He just hadn't counted on the animal using a weapon of it's own.

"Fuck!" He screamed, rolling away from the truck that the Deathclaw had thrown at him.

Nate popped back to his feet and had begun to turn back to the Deathclaw when he felt a massive weight slam into him, sending him once more tumbling to the ground, the mini gun flying out of his usually steady grip. He tried to get back to his feet but felt himself being raised into the air again. The Deathclaw gave a mighty roar right before Nate brought his metal boot crashing into it's jaw. He felt the creatures jaw break, forcing it's grip to loosen enough for him to get free. He'd rather not go hand to hand with this damn thing, but it looked like he had no choice. He lookde quickly around for a weapon and saw something he could use. He hurriedly ripped a near by parking meter out of the ground. Hearing the pissed roar, Nate managed to get the meter flipped around just in time to impale the bastard.

If anything, the beast looked more surprised than him that it had worked. The monster slid to the ground, lifeless. Nate backed away slowly Until he was sure it was dead. He took a deep calming breath and made his way back into the museum to find the survivors on the ground floor, with the dog curled up by the old woman feet. Figuring he didn't need the armor, Nate exited it as Preston approached him, something akin to awe in his expression, but still fairly well hidden.

"That...was an impressive display. I'm glad you are on our side." Preston hesitated before continuing. "I'm actually surprised it didn't explode when you powered it up."

Nate grinned.

"It was fun." He looked to the group behind the young soldier. "Is everyone okay.?"

"Thanks to your help yes. We're planning on staying the night here and moving on to our destination in the morning. You're welcome to stay if you'd like." Preston offered.

Nate thought it over and made the decision it would probably be the best idea.

"Yeah. I'd rather not run into one of those Deathclaws again."

"That was odd to be honest with you. They tend to stay near the Glowing Sea, Haven't seen one this far north in long time,"

"The Glowing Sea?" Nate asked.

Preston sat down on a chair near the door and Nate joined him away from the others who were rolling out sleeping bags.

"I guess I need to bring you up to speed. You said you've been on ice for 200 years. So I'm guessing you've been around since before the war, right?"

Nate nodded.

"Well kinda. Was in the Marines for a good chunk of my adult life. Settled down here after Anchorage." He explained.

"Damn. Like one of those old prewar ghouls." Preston commented.

"Ghouls?"

"Ghouls are people who have been heavily irradiated. Some are people from before the bombs were dropped. They look like corpses running around but most are goo people just trying to survive." Nate saw Preston's eyes harden. "then there are the Ferals. Some say the rads rotted their brains. They act on pure instinct against anything that isn't a ghoul."

To Nate, it sounded like a really bad sci fi movie with zombies, but he nodded his understanding.

"So did anyone else make it out with you?" Preston asked.

"My son...he was...kidnapped."

Preston sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Any idea who it was that took him?"

"No. But when I find him, he's a dead man." Nate paused before asking his own question. "How'd you guys ended up here in Concord? It's not like Quincy is just down the street."

"Guess you earned the right to know our story. I was part of a detachment sent to reinforce the settlement in Quincy when they were put under siege by a Mercenary group known as the Gunners. Colonel Hollis, my commanding Officer, had a parley with the Gunner Leader, a former Minuteman named Clint. I don't know what they discussed, but not long after the Colonel returned, he sent word for more men to help out." Preston narrowed his eyes in anger. "No one came. The others...they just abandoned us." He glanced over to the others. "Managed to get a group of eighteen out. It was myself and five other men. Went through Jamaica Plains, but the damn Gunners never let up. Stopped in Lexington which seemed promising, but Feral overran it not long after we set up shop."

"Damn. Bad stretch of luck." Nate remarked, fishing a cigarette out of his pack,.

Preston declined the offered smoke.

"You can say that again. And you've seen how Concord has turned out. I can't help but think I only postponed the inevitable by dragging these people along on this trip."

"You can't give up Preston. I can tell you know, that if in the end, you managed to save just one life, you've done your job."

Preston blinked and smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks. I guess...I guess I needed to hear that from someone else. Now, you said you were looking for your son. The only place to get that help will be in Diamond City. Its built inside what used to be called Fenway Park."

Nate perked up. He knew right where that was. But Preston's next remark brought him back down.

"Only problem is, Raiders and Super mutants present a rather difficult obstacle to get around."

"Super Mutants?" He asked.

"Lost of muscles, little amount of brains. Trust me, you can not miss them."

"So...how would I get to Diamond City then?"

Preston paused, thinking over the area before he answered slowly.

"I suppose if enough people banded together, they could clear the area out and punch a hole through the mutants." Preston answered. "Hmmm...you know, we did have a few Minutemen Outposts up here. Maybe...but I would take some work to get them to come back. When Hollis died, everything just fell apart. Hell, we'd been on the decline since General Becker was killed back in '82."

"Tell more about the Minutemen."

Preston leaned back as Nate gathered his gear nearer to him. The silence last a minutes before Preston started speaking.

"The Minutemen came about a century and a half ago. The first members where former US National Guardsmen who had been irradiated and became Ghouls. They were there to help the vault dwellers get used to the topside and to keep them safe. It's not like they called themselves the Minutemen right at the start thought."Preston chuckled. "It was a name they gained from the quick response they gave any settlement in danger. The attack on Diamond City in 2160 was what solidified them as the good guys around here. Hell, even the CPG wanted to put them on the payroll as a standing army."

"The CPG?"

"Commonwealth Provisional Government. An idea that took hold around 2202." Preston muttered. "It was a good idea at first. We had been hearing for years about the New California Republic back west. Some people here wanted to give it a try. Didn't last long. Once the Minutemen lost the Castle, everything started going down hill for the Commonwealth. Infighting and other stuff. But the worst by far was complacency."

Nate nodded his understanding.

"Complacency kills." He quoted.

"You ain't kidding. The Minutemen hadn't faced a real threat in close to a century. Oh sure, raiders and Mutants are dangerous but can be handled. No...what killed us was ourselves. Men who refused to leave their settlements to aid others. Minutemen betraying each other. And last...no will left to make this shit hole somewhere we can live in peace." Preston growled out. "I joined at 17. I wanted so badly to make the Commonwealth a decent place. My Dad wasn't happy about it, but he understood. Now, a decade later, I'm the last one."

A battle weary man sat before Nate. It was never easy to lose everything you've fought for. Hell, Nate wasn't sure he was dealing with his loses since he was pretty sure he was still in shock.

"Are you really the last Minutemen?"

Preston snorted.

"Maybe not the physical last. But sure as hell the last Active one. There are others out there. Either retired or the ones who turned their backs on us at Quincy. I can only hope this Sanctuary place Mamma Murphy has been talking about is as safe as she claims it to be."

"You guys are headed to Sanctuary?"

"Yup. Hoping it will be a good start for everyone."

Nate just nodded his head, deep in thought. Thinking on everything Preston had told him, Nate felt he could use the help. And they could use his. If there really were potential allies out there, he'd need them. Oh sure, he remembered all the cockiness he and his buddies had right out of bootcamp. The feeling of being able to taking on a whole army and coming out victorious. But experience had changed him. He'd need help. Not just in personnel, but with the more important things like food and ammo. And Nora would have his ass if he didn't hep these people out. The ache returned again as his thoughts drifted to his now dead wife.

"How much work would it take to get these people to help us?" He asked quietly.

Preston seemed to be taken by surprise before he was able to respond.

"Probably not much. Just seeing that there are Minutemen out there willing to help will do a world of good for us. Are you...considering joining up?" Preston asked.

"I'm thinking about it. I'll help escort y'all to Sanctuary tomorrow. We'll discuss it then."


	2. Chapter 2

New chapter up guys. I'm trying to pace this out. I've also added a few new twists and altered a few things in the universe, mostly to fit my story line. I always felt that it was odd how quickly the Minutemen quest line went and the fact that other Minutemen like Ronnie just show up out of the blue, or how suddenly squads appear after getting the castle back. And I always wondered what happened to the ones who didn't come to help Preston, so I've changed how they worked. Also found it very odd how as the General, you really don't give any orders or plan an defensive operations outside of putting up guard posts and turrets. Or how useless it is to stock a settlement with weapons for them to use to prevent attacks from happening. Nothing will be explained in too much detail as I'm still fleshing out the characters backstory but the basis is that the northern squads were pretty much cut off from the rest by the rise of super mutants, which I won't say why they are a bigger threat in this story as compared to the game as I have a plan to expand upon some in game information that kinda made me wonder how deep that particular venture went. If you've beaten the game, don't spoil it. Anyway, drop a review and let me know what you think. I've had to restart my game so I can at least keep thinks moving in the general direction the main story does.

The world seemed strange. So misted over, Nate could barely tell what anything was. He stood in confusion for several moments before a smell of perfume he knew so well caught his attention. Nate turned to see Nora, smiling beautifully at him. He smiled in return.

"Nora." He breathed.

"My dear handsome Nate." She began, walking towards him. "My own War Hero."

Nate tried to move forward, but found his body wouldn't move. The mist swirled around him, changing the world until he was back in the Pod. He began to panic, looking around as the scene of Nora's murder replayed before him.

"No..." He croaked out.

"Beg all you like." The bald bastard spoke. "You failed to save you wife and son. And now, they're both dead. And it's all your fault."

"No. No. I-I didn't kill them! I tried to protect them!" Nate countered, panic setting in.

"How?" Nora's voice sounded from across from him.

As he watched, she rose out of the pod, blood oozing from the wound Nate knew was fatal. She walked to the pod that contained him and glared at him.

"By signing us up to spend a lifetime in a vault?" She shook her head. "It would have been better to have died together when the bombs fell. Instead, I'm dead and Shaun is more than likely dead as well."

"No. No, this has to be a nightmare." Nate muttered.

Nora smiled darkly at him, moving closer to his pod until her hand rested on the door.

"Oh no my dear husband. The nightmare has only begun." She whispered as she raised her fist.

The loud thump startled Nate awake from his nightmare. The Marine reached for his rile when a hand gripped his shoulder. Nate looked over and saw Preston motion for him to keep quiet and follow him. Nate shook his head to clear the weariness he felt and followed his new allies back up to the office. Once they were inside, Sturges quickly shut and locked the door while Nate slid over to where Preston was.

"Ferals. Pack of them must have been attracted by the gunfire earlier." He explained, turning away from the window.

Nate felt his curiosity peak and decided to take a look himself. And his eyes went wide as he watched what could only be classed as Zombies shuffling around the bodies from the Raiders.

"Are...are they eating the bodies?" He questioned softly.

"Not just the dead ones kid." He heard Mama Murphy say.

"The Longs can attest to that." Preston muttered darkly, Laser Musket ready in case one got in.

"What do you mean?" He asked, already forming an idea of what they meant.

"The Longs had a son...kid named Kyle. Bright boy. Wanted to be a Minuteman." Preston explained, the haunted look returning to his eyes. "When we left Quincy, he took a shot to the leg. Nothing too bad, but slowed us down. We were in Lexington when..." Preston trailed off.

"When the Ferals swarmed us. Freddie was on watch with Jack when they came. Kyle had been listening to stories from Jack about they old days when everyone loved the Minutemen. First sign of trouble, Freddie sent Kyle to get me. We were holding, but...I made a bad call and I lost four people to the ferals before we retreated." Preston took a shaky breath. "Kyle was right there beside me, firing that pistol he grabbed from Jack when the Ferals broke through the barricade. I watched as they tore into the kid."

Nate listened, understanding apparent on his features.

"It shouldn't have happened. I should have fallen back the moment Freddie went down. Instead, because of my failure, a thirteen year old boy was eaten alive by Ferals. My inaction got three civilians and two of my best shots killed. Because I was trying to prove something. To prove we could survive if we just stuck together." Preston let out a humorless chuckle. "Some wonderful job I did huh?"

"Preston, you couldn't have done anything any differently. We'd all be dead or worse if it wasn't for you ." Mama Murphy calmly stated, her hand stroking the fur of the dog sitting beside her.

"I still caused the death of a child." Preston argued.

"Shut up Garvey." The voice of Marcy Long hissed.

All eyes turned to the woman as she rested her hand on her husbands back. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"Since Lexington, I have wanted so bad to hate you. To blame you for the death of my boy." She looked him straight in the eye. "But I can't. I can't point my finger at anyone other than the Gunners. You have done your best to keep us alive. To find a place to carve out a future. You want to point the finger at someone, point it at the Gunners. If they would have left Quincy alone, my son would have never crossed paths with a Feral until he was an adult."

Nate saw the tears run down her face as Jun pulled his wife into a hug.

"I understand what you two are going through. Before I got free of Vault 111, I was forced to watch my wife get murdered and my son taken. I have no idea if he is even alive." Nate stated, a defeated sigh leaving his lips.

"Shaun is alive kid." Mama Murphy stated.

Nate snapped his head to her. As far as he knew, he had never spoken his son's name.

"How...how do you know his name?"

Mama Murphy gently smiled at him.

"I see much with the Sight kid. I saw you wake up in that ice box. All of this must seem so strange to you. So out of time you are, but what we need in the present to shape our future." She spoke, leaving a surprised Nate listening intently. "Your destiny is one that will shake the whole Commonwealth to it's very foundation."

"That's...incredible." Nate stated. "Do you know...?"

She seemed to anticipate his question.

"Sorry kid. The Sight shows much, but I can't See where he is. But Preston has already pointed you down the path to find him." She smiled down at the dog. "Leave it to Dogmeat to find another in need of direction."

 _"Dogmeat? The hell kind of name is that?"_ Nate wondered to himself.

"So I take it he is your dog?"

"He ain't my dog kid. Dogmeat has always been good at finding people who need him." She turned her gaze back to Nate. "And from what I've seen, you'll be the last, Dogmeat will follow you till the end."

Dogmeat perked up and licked Nate's face, making the Marine smile. Nate scratched him behind the ear.

"Good to know boy."

"Looks like they aren't going anywhere for awhile. Let's try to get some sleep." Preston spoke, still looking haunted, but it seemed Marcy's words had brought him to think on what had been talked about.

"I'll take first watch." Nate stated, edging to the window to observe the eating Ferals.

"You sure?" Preston asked.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna get anymore sleep tonight. Take a couple hours." He offered.

"I'll stand with ya Muscles." Sturges took a spot by the door where he could look down into the museum.

Preston sighed and nodded.

"Alright. But wake me if something happens."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was almost ten am by the time the ferals had left, allowing the survivors to head out into the day light. Nate walked beside Preston, the power armor putting the others at ease. He hadn't had a chance to fully take everything in when he came into Concord, but now he took the time to examine the damage done to the town. Other than a few blown out buildings, it had stood the test of time fairly well. Something he commented on to Preston.

"A lot of the buildings around here are in decent enough shape. Hell, the guys in Quincy had repaired a lot of them. Sturges ran a garage of his own there,"

This surprised Nate.

"I figured no cars would run after the bombs fell."

"You're partially right." Sturges replied. "It's possible to get some of the old rust buckets up and running, but with the ravages of time and the elements, most are too damaged to even get moving. What I fixed up were old suits of Power Armor." He explained.

"Really? You mean like repair or upgrade?"

"Both actually. Shame I didn't have more time before the Gunners made their push. Had a T60C I was fixing up. Had gotten it off a buddy of mine from the Atom Cats."

"These...Atom Cats just have Power Armor sitting around? Who are they anyway?" Nate asked.

Sturges chuckled.

"Pretty much the modern version of a greaser gang. Good guys though. They actually don't collect them so much as sell um. Pretty good at customizing them too."

"What kind of customization are we talking about here?"

"You know how the T series is pretty modular right?" Nate nodded. "Well, they had gotten access to a supply cache down in D.C. some years back. Brought what they could up here and set up shop. Everything from paint jobs to mods, they do." Sturges explained.

Nate filed the information away. These Atom Cat guys could be a helpful addition, especially if they could get a deal on Power Armor. The walk to Sanctuary was fairly smooth for them, Sturges had even set his eyes on the Red Rocket just outside Sanctuary. Nate motioned for them to stay by the bridge as Codsworth came floating over, saw blade buzzing and flame thrower ready.

"State the password or vacate this premise immediately!"

Nate smiled.

"Tun Tavern. Any unwanted visitors since yesterday?"

Codsworth seemed to be relieved and shut his weapons down.

"Ah good to see you again sir! I see you found some friends." The ever polite robot spoke.

"Yeah. Codsworth, this is Preston Garvey. He and his friends have had a rough trip from Quincy and are looking to make this place their home." He explained.

Codsworth's eye stalks swiveled to look at Preston.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mister Garvey. I do hope you won't be too disappointed with the neighborhood. I was only able to bring Master Johnson's house up to something livable." The Robot greeted.

"Nice to meet you Codsworth. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Long as there is a roof over my head and food in my gut, I'm willing to call this place perfect." Sturges stated, looking at some of the intact homes in the area.

"Oh dear me! It is almost dinner it seems. I shall whip up something for all of you. Please, excuse me!"

And with that, Codsworth headed off towards the house, leaving the group to walk through the streets by themselves. Nate noticed that they each seemed grip their guns, expecting some sort of attack.

"Codsworth would have cleared the area already. Said the worst thing he has come across here were some roaches and flies." Nate explained.

That seemed to ease their minds and they made the rest of the trip in peace. Codsworth seemed to have a flair for surprises as Nate found him cooking some kinds of meat that smelled great and had a few sides boiling away in pots on the stove. Nate was about to ask how he had power to it, but spotted power cables tacked along the ceiling, leading to the emergency generator Nate had had installed a couple months before the Great War.

"Dinner shall be done soon sir. Why don't you get washed up? I gather our guests will want to shower before bed as well. Which means I must break out the sleeping bags we have stored in the shed."

"The plumbing still works?" Nate asked, once more surprised.

"Indeed sir! I had actually rerouted the neighborhood ages ago to keep the plants watered. The tricky part was figuring out how to get the purifier installed properly." The robot explained.

"Hold on. What purifier? And what plants? The roses?"

"Hardly just for the roses sir, though I do need to look over them again." Codsworth stated. "The purifier I found on one of the trucks at the Red Rocket down the way. They also had quite a few extra parts for my particular model. And as for the plants...well I had taken up farming as a hobby. Not that I had use for the produce...but well.."

Nate smiled in appreciation.

"You did it for when we returned. Thank you Codsworth. For everything."

The Butler paused and a small hatch opened up. Codsworth produced a single holotape.

"I did find this while you were off in Concord sir. A holotape...that your other half had recorded. I believe she wanted to surprise you with it." He mournfully informed him.

Nate took the holotape with trembling fingers, holding it like it was made of fragile glass. A tear ran down his check as he looked back to Codsworth, who seemed to be apprehensive about he response.

"Thanks buddy. I-I'm gonna grab a shower I'm sure everyone will be in soon to eat."

"Of course sir."

Nate hurried to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him. The repairs that Codsworth had made over the years was readily apparent, but Nate didn't really care. He sat down on the toilet and simply stared at the Holotape labeled 'Hi Honey!'. With a shaky breath. He tapped the holotape slot open and placed the tape gently into the Pipboy. A squeal of static came out of the speakers before a voice he'd never hear again played.

" _Oopsie. Ha ha ha. No, no, no. Little fingers away. There we go. Just say it. Right there. Right there. Go ahead."_ Nate heard Nora encourage Shaun.

Nate smiled sadly hearing Shaun's infant giggles, which made Nora laugh in the recording.

" _Yay! Hi honey! Listen...I don't think Shaun and I need to tell you how great of a father you are... but we're going to anyway. You are kind, and loving,"_ Shaun giggled in the background, bringing the tears Nate was trying to hold back spill down his checks " _.. and funny! Ha ha. That's right. And patient. So patient. Patience of a saint, my mom used to say."_

Nate felt his heart constrict, but as much as it hurt, this was also a priceless gift to him. __

 _"_ _Look, with Shaun, and us all being at home together... It's been an amazing year. But even so, I know our best days are yet to come. There will be changes, sure. Things we'll need to adjust to. You'll rejoin the civilian workforce, I'll shake the dust off my law degree..."_

"So proud of her for that." He whispered sadly. __

 _"_ _But everything we do, no matter how hard... we do it for our family. Now say goodbye, Shaun... Bye bye? Say bye bye?"_

Nora laughed at Shaun's giggles in the recording, bringing Nate to weep silently. __

 _"_ _Bye honey! We love you!"_

Words he would never hear from Nora again. Nate had no idea how long he sat like that, crying silently as he let the torrent of emotions he had held back since leaving the vault just spill out. After awhile, he managed to bring his emotions into control, not that anyone would blame him for breaking like that. But what hurt him the most was not being able to say good bye to his wife. He needed to bring closure to it. To begin to heal the fresh wound. It wouldn't happen today, or tomorrow, but until he started to heal himself, he was of no use to his son once he got him back. Nate rose to his feet and began getting cleaned up, still hurting inside, but like his Mom always liked to say, time heals all wounds. This one though, would leave a scar.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nate walked outside and saw all the Quincy Survivors sitting under the awning over the driveway of the house, enjoying their meal. He saw Codsworth and Sturges in a deep discussion. Possibly on putting the talents of the two together to repair the old neighborhood. The Longs were off to the side, but seemed to be doing somewhat better, while Mama Murphy fed pieces of the meat to Dogmeat, who was happily munching away. This left Preston to the side on his own, taking it all in.

Nate grabbed himself a plate, seeing as Codsworth managed to save more than just a few things as he had hinted at, and sat by Preston. The man noticed that Nate was pretty clean from grime and such.

"A working shower too? I don't know whether to be impressed or scared I'm in a nightmare." The Minuteman stated bluntly, his half finished meal sitting beside him. "Where'd all this stuff come from?"

Nate figured he meant the folding table and chairs.

"My...wife liked to throw parties. Best guess, he pulled them from the hall closet."

"I see."

Preston leaned back, looking at Nate with a critical eye.

"So...you said you were considering joining the Minutemen. Have you given any thought to it?"

"I have. I have to ask though, how much good can just the two of us be? And second, I'd need to know How to address you in the rank structure." Nate put his fork down.

Preston seemed to agree with his points.

"Fair enough. The two of us only need to do enough to rekindle the Minutemen. There used to be a garrison over at the Old Starlight Drive in. We used to use it as a supply center for Tenpines,. Abernathy, and a few other small farms to keep them supplied with food, medicine, even defense turrets. Also doubled as a training camp of sorts. I don't know if there is anything left there." Preston stated thoughtfully. "Last word on the place was that it went dark not long before the Gunners massacred Quincy. Raiders or something attacked the place."

Nate perked up on that.

"If that place is still stocked, that'd help go along way to getting the ball rolling for the Minutemen."

"We'd need help getting it back though. If Raiders took it, they'll be dug in pretty good." Preston replied. "And if it's something else that took up residence...well either way, two of us going after it won't do much good."

"Still, it's a juicy target."

"On that, we can agree. As for where I fall in the chain...well, with Colonel Holis gone...well, that would put me as Colonel Garvey."

"Not the way to earn a promotion I suppose."

"No sir. It's not." He stared out towards the setting sun. "Look, I'm gonna be blunt here. I need your help to get the Minutemen back on track again. We started on Old World values, we need to rebuild on those same values. And you're just the man to lead it."

Nate looked at him in surprise.

"Now hold on a minute. Why can't you lead it? You're the ranking officer!"

"We both saw how my leadership does." He sighed. "I can hold a perimeter, get my squad through a firefight. But I'm not the kind of guy to deal with the bigger picture. I can help get things moving, but to be honest, after what I saw in Concord, you are the one that can lead the Minutemen better than me."

Nate sighed and took a sip of his water.

"And I suppose you'd feel fine taking orders from a Staff Sergeant then Colonel?" Nate asked him.

"Oh I can follow orders. So...are you in or not?"

Nate had to smirk at Preston's blunt mannerisms.

"Alright Colonel Garvey. I'm in."

The man before him smiled.

"Good. And don't worry, I'll help you along the way...General."

Nate coughed after spraying the table with water. He looked at Preston with a surprised look.

"That's one hell of a promotion you just handed me there Garvey."

It didn't seem to bother the man who shrugged and sipped his own glass of water.

"Leader of the Minutemen has always held the rank of General. Only good thing is since I'm the last of the Minutemen, no one can say you're not the General. Don't fret. The title is mostly meaningless right now. But once we get enough people, well, it goes back to functioning like the Original Ones ran it."

"Guess that makes you my Executive Officer then." Nate quipped, still a little shocked at how this had gone. "Well, in for a dime, in for a dollar. What do we do now though? I don't know what settlements are near here. Only one I'm familiar with is Starlight." Nate told him.

"I'll speak to your robot, see if there is a ham radio or anything like that nearby. Even if no one needs our help, I can at least contact some of the Trader Camps in the area, get some supplies moving our way. Hope we can scrounge some caps together to get those supplies though."

Nate wasn't quite sure he heard the man right.

"Did you say 'caps' as in bottle caps? Is that what people use as currency?"

Preston nodded.

"Yeah. We use caps. Guess I better give you a run down on the economy." He leaned his musket against the table. "Regular nuka cola caps act like what you called ones. They are everywhere and easy to find. The Nuka-Cherry are worth five regular caps. The orange are worth ten. Grape are twenty, Dark are worth fifty, and the quantum are worth a hundred regular caps." Preston explained.

Nate knew it would take time for him to remember this and wondered what he would do with his actual paper money since it was apparently worthless. Even Preston had no idea what to do with it, as no one bothered to find a use for it.

"Probably use it as kindling then." Nate muttered.

"Mister Johnson."

Nate looked up to see Codsworth and Sturges approaching him.

"Mister Sturges has a rather attractive proposal."

"Alright. Shoot."

"I spoke to your little buddy here and from what he said, there is some decent salvage down at the old Red Rocket. I wanted to take him along with me to go through it. I do know he mentioned some prewar sentry turret we could put to good use here." The man explained.

Nate looked over the pair, before he looked to Preston, who smirked.

"It's your call General."

Sturges chuckled while Codsworth began congratulating him on his promotion. Nate laughed before he answered.

"Alright. You guys can go in the morning. And by the way Codsworth, is there a ham radio laying around some where?"

"I believe there is one in number four's utility room."

Nate thanked the robot and rose to his feet.

"Well...today has been a busy day. Tomorrow, you'll get on the radio, see what needs to be done along with seeing how many 'caps' we have to pool together for supplies."

"Sounds like a plan. What about you sir?" Preston asked.

Nate looked off towards the vault with a far off look.

"I'm...going to bury Nora. Her body is still in the vault and I refuse to leave it in the same tomb as those Vault-Tec bastards. She deserves far better than that."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The sun was high by the time Nate had finished. The grave had a simple white wooden cross stacked down with her name on it. Nate wished he could go back in time and change how all this went. But he knew he couldn't. He had buried her by the now old maple he had planted when they had first moved in. She used to love just laying out under it, even though the tree had barely been wider than he was. He thought it fitting. He felt the despair well up inside him again as his hand gripped her wedding ring.

"I promise I will not stop until that bastard pays for what he did to you." Nate vowed.

He turned and headed back to the house as Codsworth watched, wishing he could help his Master. Inside the house Nate spotted Preston heading his way with what Nate hoped was good news.

"General! I've got some good news. There is a trader caravan about a day out from here near Abernathy. They were surprised to hear about us, but are eager to trade."

"We have enough money?" Nate asked, still feeling like a kid when he thought of paying with bottle caps.

"We have around three hundred between all of us. It's enough to get some basic stock. Mostly, we need them to show up so they can pass along we exist. The ham will only get us so far."

Nate agreed with that assessment, as word of mouth was more reliable in this new world.

"And that brings me to our next item. Sturges and Codsworth had indeed struck gold. The inventory is still being done on what they got back, but we now have six sentry turrets, four hundred feet of power cable, two power generators, and six cases of MREs that are still good. Sturges thinks its from a military supply convoy that had stopped at the gas station." Preston reported.

"Any arms and munitions?" Nate asked.

"Not much for weapons. Mostly five-five-six, around ten thousand rounds, and a couple crates of grenades. There's a lot of material to help get this place running, but it will be a day or two before we know exactly how much." Preston explained.

Nate nodded his head as he looked over the list Preston had brought over. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Jun came hurrying over to them.

"You two need to get to the radio. Someone is calling for you."

Both men made their way quickly to the Ham Radio that had been moved to the home across from Nate's. It used to belong to Mrs Rosa, but Sturges had taken it as a place to set up shop. Nate and Preston entered hearing the gruff male voice coming through the speakers. Nate saw Preston's eyes narrow.

 _"Again. To Preston Garvey and his Minutemen friends that may still be alive. It is advised you give up. The Minutemen no longer have the strength to keep the Commonwealth safe. The Gunners can. Like we showed you in Quincy. You couldn't even keep your own people in line. Do yourself a favor and just walk away. You'll live longer that way."_

The radio transmission went silent. Preston turned and punched the wall before he spoke.

"That was Clint. Damn traitor."

"Think he'll sway some of our guys?"

"Who knows. Cowards. The lot of them." Preston muttered storming off.

Nate watched him go, wondering if things would work out for all of them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Two weeks after they had settled into Sanctuary, they finally had a spot of good luck. Five Minutemen, who were technically retired, arrived, willing to sign back on as long as they're families were allowed to reside in Sanctuary. Nate had quickly agreed and welcomed them all and placed them in a large house two doors down from his own home. The quality of life in their little community was a surprise to all the new comers as even diamond city didn't offer as many creature comforts as they did here. Nate found himself being placed in another job he felt he wasn't fully suited for. One of Mayor. Granted, his little settlement was only at about twenty people with a third being military, but he also had children running around. Thankfully, one of the grown daughters of his Minutemen was a teacher and began classes at his request. He also assigned Codsworth to assist her. All in all, it was shaping up. The Minutemen however, were still sitting idle when Preston came over to his home about two in the afternoon.

"Welcome to my humble abode Preston." Nate joked, wiping his hands with the dirty rag.

"And such a gracious host you are sir." Preston snickered back.

Both men chuckled before seating themselves at the patio table. Nate grabbed his beer, sipping the beverage with enjoyment.

"What brings you over Preston? Any settlements call in yet?"

The wait and inactivity was driving him stir crazy. The closest they came to making headway was bailing a caravan out near concord two days ago. Preston gave a small smile.

"Not quite, but something even better sir. Two squads of Minutemen have contacted us from Greentop Nursery out east. Apparently they heard the broadcast from Clint and have been waging a guerrilla campaigns against the Gunners near the old National Guard Training Yard." His smile became predatory. "They've managed to take it."

Nate smirked.

"So, they found out we're still operating out here and are offering supplies?"

"Even better sir. One of the survivors is Master Sergeant Ronnie Shaw."

Nate cocked and eyebrow and motioned for him to continue.

"She's been retired for a decade now. But she was noted as one of the best trainers we had." Preston explained. "Some of the best men I served under were from her training centers."

"Sounds like an asset we can use. But if memory serves, that old training yard is a day or so out. We don't have the man power to set up any kind of supply chain that far yet. Not with out Starlight. By the way, how'd that go?"

Preston and Sturges had gone out with out even telling Nate about it. Hell, Nate didn't even know until Codsworth had told him this morning. Preston gave a sigh.

"Well, it's not Gunners. But from what we saw, about fifty raiders have set up shop. Until we can get rid of them, every settlement in the area are in danger. Even us." Preston responded.

Nate leaned back thoughtfully.

"You know, this is almost like Anchorage."

"Sir?"

"Just before we managed to kick the Chinese out of Alaska, we were air dropped in behind the lines with the mission to take out the Naval batteries keeping our destroyers and landing ships from moving in and liberating the city. Myself and two squads of Marines and elements of the 101st Airborne, barely forty attackers." Nate leaned back and watched Codsworth drift pass, apparently playing hide and seek with the young children. "The attack...was the worst operation I'd ever been part off..."

Nate's voice trailed off, his mind wondering back to that fateful mission...

 _Two hundred and eleven years ago..._

/November 25, 2076/Anchorage Alaska/

Staff Sergeant Nate Johnson double checked his gear and sent a small prayer as the men around him looked over each other. He frowned, seeing that he was the only Jarhead on an Army bird. He chuckled mirthlessly, catching the attention of a nearby Army Specialist. The younger man smiled at him.

"Don' ya worry yourself there Marine." His southern drawl cutting through the engine noise clearly. "We'll get y'all back safe to your Navy buddies. Hell, you won't even need to fire your gun with us around." He chuckled.

Nate smirked at the Airborne.

"Well, you do know the first rule of gunfighting for the Navy, right?"

"Send in the Marines." The Specialist chuckled.

"What's your name kid?" Nate asked.

"Specialist Peter Stacker. My friends call me Pete, Staff Sergeant."

Nate nodded.

"Well then Specialist Stacker. Let's hope this goes as smoothly as you're hoping. I'd hate to have to rescue all you Army guys by myself."

The others around him laughed as the jump master dropped the back hatch. The sub zero air pulled at them, making Nate wonder once again why command thought this was a good idea. He had a bad feeling about this op since he heard about it.

"Thirty seconds!" The Jump Master shouted into his headset.

As one, the fifteen men rose to their feet and readied themselves to jump out of the aircraft. Nate took a deep calming breath, letting himself relax.

"Fifteen seconds!"

The transport shook so violently, Nate was almost thrown out the back. He watched the Jump Master disappear in an explosion, which Nate figured was a flak shell. Nate struggled to his feet and edged to the back of the plane, or what was left of it, as the ungainly plane began falling from the sky. Another flak impact caught his eye and he turned in time to see the left wing rip free from the plane.

"Oh that isn't good." He muttered before he began Barking orders. "Everyone, jump now!" He ordered, turning to the crew bay. His stomach plummeted.

The flak shell that had taken out the left wing had blew a hole into the troop bay, and the others must have been sucked out. Nate had been spared from his grip on the hand rail near the exit. He turned his gaze back to the horizon as the plane began to roll through the sky. Saying one more pray, Nate lept from the dead bird moments before a SAM battery put missile into the main reactor on board. He covered himself best he could from the shrapnel, but still felt the bite of hot metal in his arms from the metal debris. The concussive blast sent him tumbling and for several terrifying moments, he felt the primal fear settling into him. He began to panic before his training took over, and forced himself to stabilize his body. It took several seconds, but he managed. He double checked the altimeter on his HUD, seeing the altitude dropping rapidly. When the altimeter read one thousand, Nate yanked the primary chute cord, and was very very happy for the sudden bone jarring yank as the parachute slowed his body down very quickly. The last few hundred feet passed uneventfully. He wondered if the Reds thought no one had made it off the plane. He knew he hadn't seen an other Chutes himself. It didn't take him long after landing to drop the chute and gripped his R91 tightly, hoping no Chinese had seen him land. Moving cautiously forward, he peaked around the corner and cursed silently. Six Chinese Troops were milling around, guarding the pass he needed to reach the Arty site.

He figured he could get maybe three of them before they got him. He started to look around for another option when a familiar voice sounded through the passage from an overhead to the right of Nate.

"Oh shit!"

Nate looked dumbstruck at Specialist Stacker. The Chinese were also taken by surprise as none had raised their weapons. Stacker did, though, and tagged one of the hostiles in the head before diving into cover. Nate quickly moved up, seeing the odds were in his favor now. Popping out of cover briefly, he sent a three round burst into the nearest trooper, who had been intending to use Nate's cover in a flanking attempt on the young soldier. The Trooper dropped, letting out a death scream that alerted his four remaining fellows another had shown up to kill them. A hail of 7.62mm rounds began impacting his position as the last four troopers split themselves to face both threats. Nate took a quick peak and saw that it would be a pain to get past them. He was at their 3 o'clock with Stacker at the twelve. If only he had some explosives.

"Grenade!"

Nate popped up and sent a sustained burst at the troopers, keeping their heads down long enough for the M67 to land between them. He couldn't have anticipated the grenade landing perfectly between the entrenched troops, much less how effective it was. After the debris stopped pinging off the rocks, Nate left his cover and headed over to Stacker's spot. The young Specialist looked grimly at his handy work as Nate slapped him on the back.

"Hell of a throw Stacker." Nate commented on. "You did good kid."

"Yes Staff Sergeant." Stacker muttered.

"First fight Stacker?" Nate asked as the pair headed to the passageway.

"First time killing a living person."

"You get used to it." Nate replied, checking to ensure the way ahead was clear. "Alright, we need to get to the other side of this canyon. Intel boys said the ECP to the batteries is about a half mile past the oil pumps over there." Nate pointed toward the structure coming out of the canyon wall.

"Solid plan Staff Sergeant."

"Hopefully, we'll link up with the other teams. You ready?" He questioned.

The Specialist nodded and the pair headed off, sticking to the limited cover around them. It took twenty minutes of hiking for them to get across the canyon, straight across a massive oil pipe, and enter into the caves running though the area. Nate hated clearing caves because any junction could be an ambush site. It put you on edge. And caves were just plain creepy in his opinion.

"Hold up." Nate whispered, hearing excited voices ahead.

The two men edged up to the drop leading into the next chamber and spotted five Chinese troopers guarding three more paratroopers that Nate didn't recognize. One was clearly an officer, but Nate couldn't make out the insignia on his collar from where they were. From the limited Chinese Nate knew, they were mocking the Americans. He turned to Stacker and saw the kid had set his aim on the head of the Chinese Captain taunting the captured men. He motioned for Stacker to keep where he was and began the task of crawling to the flank of the enemy, hoping he could get a good position to send these bastards to hell. Once more, fate had other plans. A loud shout caught his ears from the ceiling and he looked up to see a Marine in Digital Snow Camouflage fast roping into the chamber, R91 spraying the Chinese.

"God damn it! Stacker, go loud!" Nate ordered, sending a burst of his own down range.

Thankfully, the skirmish didn't last too long with the new addition lending a hand. Nate rose to his feet and stalked over to the Marine that had just finished cutting the ropes binding the others ankles and hands. He glanced up and grinned at Nate.

"Great day, huh Staff Sergeant?"

Nate spotted the kid's rank. A PFC. Some of the ballsiest guys in the Corps. Nate however, was not amused.

"What the hell was that PFC? This isn't a damn war game! You could have gotten these men killed with your stupid stunt!" He hissed.

"Easy Staff Sergeant. I'll admit, it was stupid and dangerous, but it worked." The Officer, who Nate could see was a Captain, racked back the slid on one of the Chinese Assault Rifles now laying around. "Captain John Miller, 2nd Ranger Battalion, C Company."

"Staff Sergeant Nathanial Johnson, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, Echo Company."

"Long way from the China mainland Staff Sergeant." Captain Miller observed, his rifle, aiming towards Nate's boots.

"What can I say sir. They figured the Army could use to help taking Anchorage back." Nate responded with amusement. "Thought Rangers were too good to be caught with their pants down."

Captain Miller snorted.

"Yeah well, they did at that. Our bird was downed during drop. Rest of my boys Linked up with General Chase's regiment. They're bogged down in the trenches." He looked to the two other Rangers with him. "We managed to get the drop on a company of Reds trying to flank our lines. Triggered an avalanche that sent those commies right into the bottom of the gorge. Didn't expect spec ops to catch us."

"Yeah, those stealth suits of theirs are pretty annoying." Nate glanced at the exit before he looked back to Captain Miller. "I suggest we continue on mission sir."

"Agreed. From what little I heard over com channels, command is screaming for us to blow those guns. Apparently, Chase is readying his men for a push. Good news is, we're fairly close. You think you can keep up Marine?" Miller asked.

Nate gave a dark chuckle.

"Born to kill sir."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nate watched impassively as the final coastal battery blew with a spectacular finality. But in the process, they'd lost Stacker and an Army Sergeant named Horvath. The young PFC, a man named Jenkins, was wounded pretty badly, but medivac was on the way. He was disappointed that out of the forty men they dropped with him, they were down to four survivors. But they had completed their mission. The sound of rotors filled his ears, signaling the arrival of the CH62 Super Seaking from the carrier Yorktown. The Navy and elements of the 3rd MEF were in the process of getting boots on the ground for the final push into Anchorage. He, however, would not be going. General Chase had managed to launch a three pronged assault at the Chinese, hitting their fuel depot and forward listening post, and finally, taking down their pulse field generators. The battle was still raging, but from what he gathered over the com, the Chinese were losing ground fast. It would be a while before they fully beat the Chinese back, but the enemy was now caught between two advancing American military lines. Nate would love to see the face of General Jingwei, the leader of the occupation forces, when the T-51s marched right into his compound.

"Staff Sergeant! Mount up! Our job is done!" Miller shouted over the throaty roar of the rotors.

"No. Not yet." Nate muttered heading to the chopper.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

/Present Day/

"We lost a lot of good men that day. But we managed to get the job done." Nate told the man across from him. "I agree we need more men, but we may not have any other option. Once we get large enough, we become a juicy target ourselves."

Preston coincided to his logic.

"I suppose we could plan out an attack. Maybe have a squad come in from the east while we come in through the west. I sure I could talk the farmers at Abernathy and Tenpines to lend some muscle." Preston stated thoughtfully.

"Guys! We've got a problem!"

Sounds of spuratic gun fire and explosions Nate grabbed his rifle and both he and Preston rushed to the barricade along with the rest of his men. Sturges hurried over to him from across the bridge.

"We got ten civvies under attack by a band of raiders! Can't be too sure, but I think I saw a couple kids with the civvies."

"How far?"

"Just by the old garage."

Nate looked over to his men, seeing the grim look of understanding on their faces.

"I'm not going to order any of you to come with me." Nate stated, racking the slide of his weapon. "But I'm going to help them."

"Well hell sir. What kinda man could I call myself if I let some kids get slaughtered by fucking raiders?" Lieutenant Micheals, a dark skinned man in his forties remarked with a smirk.

"Alright. Let's go. Preston, take three with you and hit them from behind. Sturges, you hang here with Jun and keep the place safe."

Nate hurried off with the two Minutemen Preston didn't take and they trio prepared for a fight. It took them less than ten minutes at a dead sprint to reach the caravan. It looked like the fight was near the end. Nate could see several dead around the gas station, more raiders than civilians, but Nate felt anger seeing one of the Raider's dragging a small brunette girl by her hair. Nate took aim, the father in him howling to save the child from this pig. The rifle bucked gently, deceptively so. The Raider scum dropped sporting a new whole in his temple. The two other Minutemen joined in, one hefting a modified M1 that could chamber the .308, the other zapping away with his four charge capable Laser Musket. Nate almost missed Preston's entry into the fight against the dozen remaining Raiders. A hail of gun fire from .38 Pipe Rifles to the Minutemen signature laser blasts. Combined with the remaining civilians, the Minutemen were able to lay waste to the Raider party within fifteen minutes. Nate greeted the leader, an aged man of near fifty.

"Thanks for the help. Thought we were done for." He calmly stated, fishing a cigarette from his pocket. "Hoped it wasn't just a rumor you boys were still around."

"Mister! Mister, are you with the Minuteman?" The little girl questioned.

Nate gave her a smile.

"Yes I am."

"You gotta help my sister then!"

Nate looked to the man, who nodded grimly.

"We got jumped by those Raider shits. Tried to skirt out past Lexington, avoid the Starlight area." He scoffed. "Ran right into um by the Corvega Plant. Held them off but..."

"They grabbed six of us in Concord. Her sister was one of them."

"Please sir!" The little girl began to cry. "She is all I have left!"

Nate kneeled down in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What's your name sweetie?" Nate asked.

"N-Natalie. Natalie Wright." She sniffed. "My sis calls me Nat,"

"We'll get her back Natalie. Promis."

"They'd have taken them to Starlight." The Old Man spoke. "Son, you may be a good shot, and your friends here aren't too bad, but you'd never get them back from Starlight. Damn place is locked up tighter than a Radscorpian's ass. I hate to say this in front of the kid, but her sister is good as dead, if she was lucky."

Nate looked to the old man and then back at the crying child. His mind raced through his options before he made his decision.

"Well now...I guess I'm taking a little walk. Let's get these these people home. I just hope Sturges has finished with the Armor."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The screams of the poor bastard the Raiders decided to play with reached her cell. She tried to tune them out. This was the fourth time today. She tried hard to hide her shudder, thinking that eventually her time would come. She rubbed the tears from her eyes, thankful that her little sister got away. At least she hoped so. The Guard leered at her, sitting across from her cell.

"Oh don't worry cutie. The boss has plans for you." He gave a perverted chuckle. "I think he's planning on braking you in tomorrow for your new role in our organization. Hope you last longer than the last one."

The woman shuddered before sending a glare at the Raider.

"I'd rather die before I let you pigs touch me." She defiantly raised her chin.

The man laughed in amusement.

"Ha! You got spunk, I'll admit. You're gonna be lots of fun honey." The screams stopped with a sickening thump. "Well, sounds like the boss is done. Better go clean up the mess."

The man left, leaving the young woman with her thoughts. She hoped she could find a way out of this. But for the first time ever, she admitted that maybe her luck had run out.

"Looks like this is the end." She muttered.

She let out a sad chuckle.

"Well, looks like Nicky was right. I never do learn to keep my mouth shut. If I only hadn't wrote that stupid article." She muttered dejectedly.

A loud explosion and the sounds of heavy gunfire reached her. Her gaze snapped to the door. Maybe...maybe her luck was still there. She could only hope so.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright Children, another chapter done and ready. I recently lost my job due to some backstabbing and other shady crap, so I am right now, while looking for work, putting time into writing. Thanks to all three of the 210 of you who took the time to review. But I gather many are wanting to see how this goes before commenting on it. I'm off on a tanget sorry. Anyway, I tried to address a few more issues I came across when I played Fallout 4 the first time. A few things always bugged me were one, no one seemed to follow the chain of command. I'm a US Marine Corps Vet, and NCO at that, and I'd have tore into one of my boots for talking as casually as some of the Minutemen did to their CO. And Mandalore, you caught right onto one of the hints from last chapter. Two, is nothing said about training Shotgun Farmer John in small unit tatics and how to work as a team? It is pure fiction for abunch of guys to grab guns and wage an effective battle. So Starlight is now the Northwest Quadrant training facility. The title will come into play later. And three, what benefit besides keeping the area immediately around your settlement clear is there to the all volunteer force? Just to pop a flare and hope some help comes? Again, not very believeable.**

 **By the way, thanks for the advice. This is the first story I have worked on in a few years so I'm rusty. Anway, here is the chapter and again, bare in mind, this is my take on the Fallout four storyline. The next chapter will show more expanision of the Minutemens and by extenstion, the lovable sarcastic asshole that is, or should that go will be, Nate. (I based Nate's personality much upon my own as lets face it? Who else but another Vet can understand the mindset of a combat vertern.) Don't forget to leave a review.**

* * *

The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, signaling for the Commonwealth that it was time to be alert for the monsters that came out at night. In the settlement of Sanctuary, the men trying to rebuild some form of peace, gathered around the rebuilt home of their new leader, a man who none of them could say lacked any combat experience. The General and his men, were attempting to hash out a map of their target, a former Minutemen supply point known as Starlight. The second ranking officer, who had been there only twice, was listing to input from his men, marking what and where each building was. The aged Minutemen relayed where defenses had been and and the most likely reposition would be for turrets.

"...And the lock up would be the most logical place for them to keep any prisoners." Sergeant Matthews stated, pointing to the marked map location. "Problem is, if they kept the barracks intact, I can guarantee you their men will be packed inside."

Nate nodded, racking his brain on the location as well. He'd been there himself before the war, so he knew the general shape and terrain.

"We'd need to come in from the north. Unless something drastic has changed, the woods and hills along this edge," He gestured to the area on the map, "Should provide us with good cover. We could sneak right in, and with any luck, compete our mission."

"What is our mission? Rescue some nosy reporter? One who got kicked out of Diamond city for staring a rumor that the Mayor was some kind of robot infiltrator?" Corporal Jones, one of the more cynical of them, snorted. "With due respect, I don't see the point of putting my arse on the line to save her."

Nate leveled a glare at the man, who merely raised an eyebrow, daring him silently to prove him wrong. Which Nate was planning to do.

"The secondary objective is hostage rescue. The primary objective is to take back what is ours, Private." Nate spat, causing the others to blanch.

Jones had always been too damn mouthy, and now, was knocked down the rank structure, which to be fair, wasn't as important as it should have been, Nate looked at each of them, the dangerous calm settling across his face.

"Each of you have been doing this for awhile, and I will be the first to admit, putting your ass on the line to keep others safe in this unforgiving wasteland is huge responsibility." His eyes hardened, making even Preston nervous. "However, you, whether you like it or not, are soldiers. You hold the rank and some training. Some of you have been treating this as a free for all. That you do what you want, talk back to your superior officers. No. More." Nate ground out.

"Preston asked me to get you guys back on track. To build you back into the organization you could once more be proud of." He looked towards the map, his mind still going over possible attack plans. "And the first large scale op we start planning, you start talking back. That stops now." His gaze locked back on the six men under his command.

"From hence forth, the rank structure will be strictly adhered to. I don't give a damn if we only number a dozen or so strong. If your given an order that unless is an unlawful one, you will follow it to the letter. If I tell you to jump, you answer better damn well be how high. If I tell you we are taking a supply base from the enemy, I better hear nothing but cries for victory." He crossed his arms over his chest, standing tall in front of them. "I plan to make this land a place I can raise my son in. One that he won't need to fear ferals making a three am house call. And I plan to do that. If you are with me, great. If you're not, step out of the way of those who are. I'm going to Starlight with or with out any of you. So what will it be?"

Nate waited as the sun sank lower. The men around him were silent, even Preston. But a voice cut through the now heavy silence that caught all of their attention. The old man who had just hours earlier stated it was suicide, was standing not ten feet away, improvised armor glittering in the dying light. Behind him stood the two remaining guards that had tried to desperately to keep his caravan safe.

"Hell of a speech son. Mind if we tag along?" The man asked.

"Thought you said it was impossible to save those people."

The man chuckled.

"Don't mean I wasn't planning to try at least kid. They were my responsibility to keep them safe. And even if they are dead, I still owe um to at least try."

Nate looked back at his troops who seemed shocked that this man would try to save those poor souls despite the danger and likely hood of death. Nate decided to use it to fuel the desire to protect the innocent.

"A civilian is showing more balls than any of you. He is willing to pick up a rifle and to do what is right." He growled. "And you better believe I'll do no less."

He watched the eyes of these men as they came to an understanding of just what it meant, truly to be the defenders of the Commonwealth people. Nate had toyed with the idea of comparing the remaining Minutemen to a under trained version of the Gunners, but thankfully, it looked like he didn't need to. The mouthy Private spoke first.

"So when d we leave...sir?"

Nate looked to Sturges across the way, and the man gave him a thumbs up, making Nate smile.

"We leave in thirty minutes. Jun and Sturges will post a guard until we get back. Dismissed."

The men left, headed off to say one last good bye to their families, leaving Nate, Preston, and the Old Man. Preston smirked.

"Nice way to put a boot in their ass General." He looked genuinely happy with how things had gone down. "I've been watching the Minutemen fall apart for a long time now. Between infighting and a lack of direction, the whole thing just imploded." Preston chuckled. "Now it's time to keep what we started here rolling. Guess it was time we stopped looking at ourselves as just a band of men with guns."

"A band of men with guns started a revolution, freeing our ancestors from tyranny and persecution of a cruel and unforgiving King. The Minutemen need to evolve from a quick reaction organization, and to start thinking like a military. Some of you do, but the rest need to get into the habit." Nate stated to the younger man, both literal and metaphorical.

Preston conceded his point.

"So I take it Sturges has the Armor ready?"

Nate smirked.

"Both sets actually."

Preston did a double take.

"What do you mean?"

"He and Codsworth found a frame in decent condition and plenty of armor plates with it. I had planned to have both of us spear head the assault into Starlight once we had gotten large enough. Now...well we're going earlier than I'd like, but this is the best chance will get."

"How so?"

"With them having taken six people, two of them women, they'll be enjoying their ill gotten gains." Nate told him, leaving what he figured was happening to the young women unsaid.

Preston understood what the General was saying, even the unsaid part.

"Not to mention the supplies the snatched from us as well." Old Man brought up, puffing on his smoke. "Plenty of booze and food. They'll be too sluggish to put up a heavy fight."

"It'll still be heavy but it's a lot harder to shoot straight when you can't even stand up properly." Preston agreed.

"Not all of us can drink and fight. But this is an opportunity we may not have for awhile. And it beats having Shaw and her group fight there way to us." He motioned to Preston to follow him. "Let's get ready Colonel."

"Right behind you sir."

The walk was short, but Preston felt his eyes bulge once he saw both suits. He could immediately tell which was the Generals. It was painted in the distinctive Marine camouflage pattern his utilities were, and a single white star adorned the chest, just above the Minutemen emblem. Next to the T51 sat one in an unfamiliar, but similar camouflage pattern that was gray instead of green. The Rank of Colonel stood out proudly with the Minuteman emblem adorning it. His eyes took it in as Sturges came over to speak with him.

"Well now Preston, what do you think?"

"It looks amazing. It's not a 51 from what I can see." He stated, running a hand over the chest plate.

"You'd be correct. It's one of the few T-45s that were retrofitted with the fusion reactor introduced on the 51B. So you don't need to worry about running out of juice." Sturges explained, cracking the armor open for him. "It'll take some getting used to, but it's pretty simple to drive. The HUD will be one hell of a help picking those raiders off from a distance. Now get in and go save those damsels in distress."

Preston looked the armor with hesitation. Sure, he'd had the basic run through in one during his training, but it had been a while ago since he'd last set foot in one. The Colonel shook off his hesitation and quickly got into the armor, and felt the metal cocoon seal around him. He felt his claustrophobia flare up but smacked it back down. No time to freak out. And besides, it was protection with an added bonus. The sound of metal boots stomping off caught his attention and he started to follow the General.

"Ah...Preston. You almost forgot something."

He turned to Sturges, confused, but that was quickly exchanged with embarrassment. The mechanic held his Laser musket, trying not to laugh. Preston had left it laying on the work bench. He accepted the musket, and headed off, his cheeks still warm from his little snafu. He came out and spotted the General by the bridge, minigun in hand and his rifle attached to the magnetic plates on the back of his armor. Preston almost panicked, realizing he hasn't grabbed his spare cells, until a compartment on his thigh opened. The display showed twenty fusion cells stored in his left thigh and twenty more in the right. On-board ammo storage. He'd forgotten about that. And the fact that Sturges would have already stocked it for him. He thought back to his training and moved his jaw directly right, where if he was correct, the ammo storage release would be. He let out an audible sigh as the left thigh compartment closed back up. Now he remembered why he hated these things besides his hate of enclosed spaces. He just hoped this op went smooth.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It took the group of fighters almost six hours to make it on foot to just outside Starlight. Night had already fallen with the time being around one in the morning. From the sounds of the raiders, they seemed to still be celebrating their latest haul. The Minutemen spread out along the hills leading to the north side of the repurposed drive in and Nate was able to get his first look at it. He could already tell it was a military site based on how everything was arranged. Four barracks, mess haul, command center, parade deck, even a few armories from what he could tell. Also plainly visible were guard towers, sentry placements, and a few spotlights. Thankfully, it appeared that there were no patrols around the perimeter, meaning these dumbasses were over confident in their defenses.

"Well...this is going to be an interesting fight." Preston mused.

"Those turrets have to go. I think we can hack them for our own use." Mathews whispered.

"Yeah, but they won't do much good just yet. I say we just shut them off." Jones argued.

"Either way will shut them off, but we need to get to the command center."

Nate frowned at Preston's statement. It'd be easier just to destroy the pesky things, but if they did take this place back, they'd need them anyway. The Marine scanned the perimeter, which was eight foot high concrete walls wrapping around the place. He spotted what he was looking for and pointed it out to Preston.

"Over there by the shed. Looks like that's how these bastards got in."

Preston saw the large hole in the wall that had been covered by a book case from what he could see.

"Odds are they have at least one turret and some mines buried around it."

"That's true, but it gives me an idea. Wait here."

"General! Wait. Some kind of group is coming from the south east. I can't really tell who-Oh shit. Super Mutant Raiding party!" Mathews warned.

Nate followed Preston's gaze and got his first look at a Super Mutant. The other man hadn't been kidding when he said lots of muscles. He had forgotten to mention their dark green skin that seemed to help them blend into the dark easier. The Minutemen watched as one of the Mutants let out some kind of roar and activated some small object with a blinking red light. Nate was about to question what it was doing when Jones answered his unasked question.

"Shit. Suicider! Heads down!" He cried.

Nate didn't know what to expect as he watched, unable to tear his gaze away as the Green Monster charged head long into the ten raiders firing at it. But his shock at what happened next brought unpleasant memories to his mind. The small nuclear explosion took out the raiders by the main gate, of which not much was left, allowing the other four mutants to rush in, battle cries filling the air mixed with the sounds of gunfire. Nate was still rooted to the spot, looking at the, rather tiny, mushroom cloud, his mind flashing back to just before he had entered Vault 111. He re watched the massive explosion in his mind, saw the world's end. His shock was interrupted by a blow to the back of the head. He shook himself and looked to Preston, nodding once to let him know he was okay, before he snapped into action.

"Gravey, take Jones and Matthews and circle around to the mutants' flank. Oldman, you and your boys need to make your way through that hole. Toss a few frags in. That should clear the way." Nate ordered.

"Right on it sir. Let's move men."

"Always loved a good fight." The Old man chuckled, leading the two men with him towards the hole.

"Smith, Carter. On me. We hit them from the other side. Rest of you, once the Old man clears the way, you follow him in. Move!" Nate ordered.

His men charged forth, three peeling off to move on the Mutants right flank, six headed for the hole, and Nate leading the last two to hit the opposite flank, catching the Mutants and raiders in a massive kill zone that the parade deck had become. Gunfire was traded between the Mutants, who seemed rather poor marksmen, and the slightly more accurate rounds from the Raiders. The two battling groups closed in on each other. Even though the Raiders had more numbers, the Mutants were far more durable. One raider found his head removed from his body when he got to close to the mutants. Others made mistakes that ended with their bullet riddled bodies laying strewn upon the cold hard ground.

"Stupid humans! Die! Die for the Master!" One of them, the leader by the looks of his armor, bellowed, swinging around his rather large sledge hammer.

"No no no!" A young woman cried out just before the hammer found it's mark.

The sickening crunch echoed through the area as she fell, screaming in pain from the shattered ribs. The mutant silenced her screams by bringing his foot down on her head. He snarled, lashing out again and caving the head in of another Raider. The Mutant was revealing in the feeling of the fight. And how much food they would have once they captured the settlement.

"You are food for us now! The Master will enjoy your flesh!"

"Tin men behind! Agh!"

The Mutant spun around, hearing both his subordinate's death scream and the chainsaw like buzz that came from a minigun being fired. The lead Mutant roared as another of it's brethren was slain by laser fire from a seconded power armored human.

"You die now tin man!"

"Not today Jolly Green Giant." The Human in the green armor retorted, swinging the weapon around.

The 5mm rounds began tearing into the mutant leader, who impressively, moved towards Nate. Flesh began to fly off of the mutant as the rounds tore deeper and deeper into his body until bursting from his back. The mutant gave a muffled groan before falling face first into the dirt. Nate tossed the Mingun aside, the barrel having been warped from the heat of sustained fire, and pulled his rifle into his shoulder, sending a three round burst into one of the dozen or so surviving raiders. Preston popped up from cover and speared another raider in the chest, the woman screaming as her chest cavity melted away from the intense heat of the blast. The Old man was shooting away with his .44 magnum, his old pipe looking rifle having been shattered not long after they had gotten in, catching a crazed raider charging him with a pool cue. The young man let out a gurgle, blood flooding his lungs as the old man had put a round right through his throat.

The Minutemen quickly eliminated the last of the Raiders and the final Mutant, who had been killed when Jones had slit it's throat, and began checking the buildings for any survivors or prisoners that had been hiding out. Nate himself made his way with Preston to check the lock up. The men entered rifles raised and came face to face with a raider holding a gun to the head of a young brunette woman with a red leather jacket. Nate was taken aback by how much the woman looked like his late wife, he almost uttered her name. He got a better look as the raider stepped further into the light cast by the fires raging outside from the turrets destroyed by the mutants.

"Don't take another step asshole, or this pretty little lady gets a one way ticket to a dirt nap." He snarled.

"Let me go you pig!" The woman yelled, trying to get out of the man's grip.

"Shut up bitch!" The raider snarled, smacking his the side of the pistol against the side of her head.

The woman gasped out in pain, as blood began to ooze the busted skin. Nate tightened his grip on his rifle, anger boiling away inside him.

"Let the woman go." He snarled.

The raider chuckled.

"I don't thinks so Armor boy. She's my ticket out of here." He placed his face right next to the woman's, who had tears streaking down her face. "So how bout you lower your guns and tell your boys outside to let me go. Once I get far enough away, I'll let this little hot one go."

The raider waited a moment, seeing that the men in front of him did not lower their weapons.

"I'll kill this bitch! Don't think I won't!" He snarled, digging the barrel of his gun into her temple. "Her blood will be on your hands!"

Nate for his part, didn't move.

"Preston. Tell the men to stand down."

"But sir! We can't take-"

"Now Colonel! That is an order. I'll handle this." Nate barked.

Preston reluctantly backed out through the open door and hurried to relay the General's order. He just hoped he knew what he was doing. Back in the hut, the sick smile returned to the raiders face as he locked his gaze on Nate, moving the pistol away from the young woman's head who was now shaking with fear. This asshole wouldn't let her go. That power armored man had to know that, had to know what if he let the Raider walk, her life would be nothing but a sex slave to this pig.

"That's a good little boy scout. Now why don't you just lead me out of here like the good little soldier you are." The raider sent a dismissive wave at Nate.

This was what Nate had been waiting for an acted as quickly as he could. He pulled the trigger on his rifle sending a single round into the head of the raider. The young woman dived away as the Raider's body began dropping to the floor. Shouts of surprise could be heard as Nate moved to the young woman's side, who was shaking in relief and fear, and began trying to calm her down and stop the bleeding from the blow she took to her head.

"Easy there. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He gently told her, wiping the blood from her cheek.

"W-who are you?" She asked as three armed men entered.

"Sir! Everything okay?" One of them, a young kid with a dark tan complexion asked her knight in dented and blood covered armor.

"Everything is fine Jones. Any other survivors?"

"Negative sir. The rest are dead. She's it."

She felt...numb hearing that. No one else that had been captured had survived. She was the only one.

"Very well. Jones, tell Colonel Garvey I need his help."

"Yes sir."

She watched the young man leave, his own wounds apparent from the fresh burns to his armor and the limp in his step. She looked back to the green armored man as he checked over her gash.

"Here. Hold this there for the next few minutes. The bleeding should stop."

"You didn't answer my question." She stated firmly, her mind now dealing with the shock enough to allow her to calm down.

The man reached up and popped the seals of the helmet, removing it to show, in her opinion, a handsome man of around her age, with what looked like claw marks scared into the left side of his face. His hazel eyes held a sense of power and yet, at the same time, a sense of tremendous loss. She had to fight down the natural reaction to blush as she couldn't help but notice how attractive he was.

"I'm General Nathaniel Johnson. Commonwealth Minutemen."

"Minutemen? But...I thought you didn't exist anymore." She stated with confusion.

"We're rebuilding. Are you alright, Miss Wright?" Preston had entered the room and turned his eyes on the young woman.

She nodded as Nate gave her a curious look.

"You wouldn't happen to have a little sister named Natalie would you?" He asked.

All other thoughts instantly left her mind as she locked onto what Nate had just said.

"She's okay? My sister is alive?" She asked, becoming hysterical.

"She's fine and at our settlement of Sanctuary."

"Thank God." She muttered. "How long before we can go there? I-I just need to see her to know she's safe."

Nate smiled kindly as he helped her to her feet.

"Soon. I need to talk with Colonel Garvey for a moment before I take you back." He answered.

She thanked him by attempting to give him a hug, but found her arms didn't or rather couldn't reach all the way around. She didn't care about the blood either as she let out a heartfelt thanks and made her way outside, freedom and relief washing over her. Inside, Nate turned to face a smirking Garvey.

"Stow it Colonel." He barked good naturedly before he became serious. "Any casualties?"

Preston sighed.

"Jones took a hit. Laser grazed his left leg. The two caravan guards are dead." He reported. "The rest have minor burns and bruises. I really can't believe we took Star Light back. The mutants were a nasty surprise."

"I'm actually wondering why they came this far north. From what you told me, they tend to stay in the downtown ruins."

"They normally do." Preston responded. "Not sure who this master is they were shouting about, but if they are sending groups out of the ruins, it'll mean bad news for everybody. They aren't very easy to take down with small arms."

Nate nodded, thinking about his now slagged mingun.

"If someone with intelligence is ordering them around, they've became a much bigger threat."

"Looks like we got our work cut out for us General." Preston quipped.

Nate found himself agreeing before telling Garvey take the group of Minutemen they brought from Sanctuary and begin what repairs they could at Starlight. Nate wanted to get the place running again as it was intended and hoped it would help with rebuilding. Preston recommended letting the next caravan in Sanctuary know to pass word that the Minutemen were recruiting again. He also stated it take some time to bring Starlight back up to where it was before it fell, but things were starting to look up.

"Alright Garvey. I'll be back in a few days to look through everything with you. For now, I need to get Miss Wright back to her sister."

"Aye sir. Safe trip."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Thank you again for saving me."

Nate chuckled as he and his two companion began the trip back to Sanctuary. It would be a long walk, but Nate figured this young woman was too stressed out about her sister to even consider stopping for sleep. He knew he'd do the same in her shoes.

"You are perfectly welcome Miss Wright."

She gave him a bright smile.

"Call me Piper, Blue. You earned that right when you pulled my butt out of the fire."

Nate gave her an amused expression.

"Blue? Why are you calling me that?" He asked.

"Because you're a vault dweller?" She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I know you're not wearing the blue jumpsuit obviously, but the fish out of water look and that I saw you checking the Pipboy on your arm through the forearm hatch were dead giveaways."

"That right? Fish out of water look huh?"

"Well yeah. You look like out of place here." She laughed as they made their way up the road, keeping an eye out for any hostile wild life or just hostile people to begin with. "I'd almost say you were pre war with how you hold yourself."

"And you'd be right Piper." Nate responded.

Piper stopped dead in her tracks for a moment, stunned by his admission. She ran to catch back up, looking at him in amazement, the inner reporter of her screaming to get the details.

"You mean...? That is to say..." She tired to find a way to phrase the question without appearing nosy. "You were alive before the war? You, ah, you don't look like a ghoul to me."

She didn't want to offend him if he was. Nate simply chuckled at her response.

"No. No ghoul. My family and I were put in some kind of cryostasis." He explained.

"Oh my God." She giggled. "'The Man out of Time.'"

Nate had to admit, it was a fitting headline.

"So you said your family was on ice with you right?" She asked, trying to mask the small flare of disappointment that this perfect guy was taken. _The hot ones usually are._ "I take it they're at Sanctuary waiting for you right?"

She almost missed the flash of pain on his face, but even if she had, the mournful tone of his voice would have clued her in that she'd unintentionally brought up a bad subject.

"My...family is buried there. At least...not my son." He sighed and figured this would come up quite often if he told people he was from a Vault. "My wife was killed when kidnappers took my son. I don't know how they got in, but I was thawed out briefly and watched it happen while I was trapped in the damn pod."

Piper felt horrible, once more cursing her inner reporter

"I'm so sorry Blue. I didn't mean to upset you."

He sent her a small smile to let her know she hadn't done anything wrong.

"It's okay Piper. You didn't know. I'm getting over it, but well, it's been such a short time to me at least. I really have no idea how much time passed from when my family was ripped apart to when I finally got out. Hell, I had trouble believing I'd been on ice for over two hundred years."

She nodded, trying to put herself in his shoes and wondered how he hadn't just cracked from the constant twists and blows from the situation. She even asked him making him laugh.

"I take my frustrations out on Raiders." He joked. "Seriously though, I guess I'm taking it one day at a time. It's a lot to get used to and even more so to accept, but I've found a purpose." He explained.

"I'm trying to build up contacts to help track down my son and to ensure that when I find him, I can say I'm making a better world for him to grow up in. Getting the Minutemen back up and running is helping me work at those two goals." He paused before sending her a suspicious look. "Are you interviewing me?"

Piper had the grace to look guilty at his accusation.

"Sorry. Bad habit." She sighed. "One that got me and my sister kicked out of diamond city."

Nate watched as she kicked a rock and sent it skidding into the underbrush. A sharp yelp was heard followed by deep growls. Nate saw what stepped out of the woods and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had thought the molerats were ugly, but what he was staring at looked like a small bear that had been shaved. Piper gave a startled gasp, pulling her 10mm pistol out while the Old Man swore and cocked revolver hammer. Nate simply raised his rifle, sites trained on the bear. The animal looked at them, almost as if debating whether or not to attack. After a few moments, it turned and walked off into the woods, deciding it wouldn't be worth the effort to attack them. The three humans waited until the bear disappeared from sight and let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Yao gui. Damn things are almost as tough as a super mutant." The Old Man stated as the trio started back on their way.

"That was interesting."

"Sorry. I didn't know it was there." Piper said defensively. "I just...well I'm a trouble magnet."

"So what got you kicked out of Diamond City?" Nate asked her.

"Other than that McDonough is a huge dick?" The Old Man muttered.

"Because of the last article I posted. We'd been hearing rumors for awhile now that the Institute is taking people from the Commonwealth and replacing them with Synths. I felt that Diamond City had buried it's head in the sand, even after having seen first hand the truth with the Broken Mask incident."

"Broken mask?"

"Long story short, son. Damn Synth strolled into Diamond City. Spent the night drinking and laughing with everyone before it went haywire and started shooting the place up. Took four officers to being it down." The Old Man explained. "We'd thought maybe he was hopped up on Buffout and psycho and he just went nuts. Turns out, instead of blood and guts, they found wires and gears in him. Creeped me the hell out."

"Exactly. In my article, I called to the people's attention of how dangerous and very real the threat of Synth infiltration is."

"Probably shouldn't have used the hypothetical scenario of it being the Mayor though." Old Man pointed out.

Nate was gobsmacked.

"You used a politician as an example?" He was quite astonished. "No wonder he kicked you out. Granted, I don't agree with it, but I can see why."

Piper seemed to deflate at that as they crest the hill that they could barely see the Concord Water tower from.

"Yeah well, I didn't expect the mass panic it caused. Or McDoungh kicking me to the curb." She muttered dejectedly.

"How'd your parents take it?" Nate asked.

Piper looked depressed as she answered.

"Can't say they could answer as both are dead."

Now Nate felt like shit as Piper continued.

"Mom passed not long after Nat was born and Dad was a guard st the settlement I grew up in. It was up north, outside the Commonwealth." She smiled sadly. "Keeping the Raiders off our backs and Mirelurks out of the latrines he'd like to say. Well one day...Dad turns up dead. His Captain, asshole named Mayburn, said Raiders must have gotten him during the night. I didn't buy it."

"Why not? Seems like a possibility."

"Because if they had, they'd have gotten in through the gate Dad stood watch over. We'd have all been killed." Piper explained. "So I started making inquiries. Didn't take long to find out he had cut a deal with the Raiders in the area. He was going to leave one of the gates unlocked for them to storm the place. Fucker was going to get a cut of the profits."

Nate listened, completely entranced by the story. He'd heard of similar incidents while he was deployed. Of Chinese American soldiers betraying their fellows to the enemy, so it really wasn't too surprising it would happen here.

"Took it to the Mayor and that went over real well. Told me how wrong I was and how many times Mayburn had risked his life to keep us all safe. Load of crap. So I took matters into my own hands. Plastered the settlement with posters of the charges on it and big bold letters saying 'Wanted for Gross Negligence: Captain Mayburn.' Well the Mayor wanted to talk after that. Apparently one of the other Guards came forward and confirmed what I had tried to tell the Mayor." She smirked as she continued. "Town kicked Mayburn out and a week later a very surprised group of Raiders arrived to find everyone in the town dug in."

"Piper. You saved those people." Nate stated with admiration. "The courage you showed by pressing on is admirable and impressive."

"No." She corrected him with a passion in her voice. "They saved themselves because they knew what was going on. I hate when people stick their heads in the sand and simply pretend everything is alright. The Institute is a real threat to us all and we need to be prepared to face it."

For a moment, Nate couldn't help but see Nora standing where Piper was. He could remember several conversations the two had along similar lines during Nora's schooling for her degree in law. She wanted to be the one to help those wronged and to protect others from the worst of society. He blinked a few times before shaking his head to clear the image away.

"The Institute sounds like a pretty bad group."

"They are. Do you...do you think maybe they took your son?" She asked him hesitantly.

"Sounds like it could be to me kid. Kidnapping a toddler for no apparent reason and just up and disappearing." Old Man snorted. "The Bogey men of the Commonwealth. Sadistic bastards."

Nate found himself agreeing with the possibility as his eyes narrowed.

"If they are the ones who took my son, they'll find themselves at War with me."

The other two with Nate shared a quick look and remained quite the rest of the trip, with only one thought.

 _Damn he is scary._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"PIPER!"

Nate watched with a warm feeling in his heart and happy smile on his face as Piper took off running at a sprint to catch her sister in a tight hug, both Wright girls crying happy tears, not caring that they were in the market area that Sturges had talked about and was under early construction. Speaking of Sturges, the Mechanic walked up beside Nate and watched the scene play out.

"Damn good job Muscles. Always nice to see a family reunited." He commented thoughtfully.

"It is. Also got Star Light back. Lost two in the process."

Sturges sighed.

"That does bring a bit of depression to an otherwise happy day." He glanced at Nate's armor. "I'm guessing that blood belongs to someone who wasn't too keen on leaving Star Light."

"You could say that. Big green tried to show me how much the thought bugged him before he died."

Sturges' face went pale.

"Please tell me you're joking?" He asked.

Nate remained silent, a grim look on his face. Sturges cursed softly.

"One more problem we now have to deal with. Our defenses will work against regular Raiders, but Mutants? Damn..." He muttered, his mind a wash with ideas and plans to optimize the safety of the settlement, headed off towards his shop to see what could be done.

He almost didn't notice the little girl run over and hug his leg. Nate smiled at the young girl as Piper waited a few feet away.

"Thank you mister! You got my sister back safely." He watched an impish grin form on the young kid's face. "She needs all the help she can to stay out of trouble."

Nate chuckled as Piper glared at her sister, muttering about pay back, while Nat stepped back and looked up at him.

"It's the least I could do kid. And you both are more than welcome to stay, even if I get accused of being a robot in disguise." He teased, causing Piper's face to redden and Nat to giggle.

"We appreciate it Blue. You mind if we start up our news paper here?" She asked.

Nate thought it over. It would actually help him out a lot, especially with they could get traders to pass it out at their other stops. The potential use for a newspaper was a very welcome resource for him and the Minutemen, and quite possible, all of the Commonwealth.

"I have no problem with it. And I promise, no interference from me on any article you publish. I do ask though, nothing about the movements of the Minutemen." He stated. "I don't want details of any operations you might over hear leaked out. Deal?"

Piper nodded fervently.

"Of course. And...thanks." She started softly. "A place for a fresh start sounds wonderful. Who knew following an armor covered stranger could turn into a perfect start. And...thanks for rescuing me again."

Nate smiled at her and turned to leave when Nat spoke out.

"Aren't you forgetting something Mister?" She asked.

Nate turned around, confused etched on his face. Even Piper seemed confused as Nat simply smiled at him.

"And what's that?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, you rescued my sister right?"

"Well yes. What about it?"

"Don't the Hero usually kiss the girl after the rescue? It was in one of the books I read." She asked slyly.

Both Adults sudden looked anywhere but at the other and were sporting reddened cheeks. It was only a moment before Nate could speak.

"That's...not how it works in real life kid." He muttered.

"By why not?" She asked, turning to Piper. "Didn't you always say you wanted to kiss a knight in shining armor? Here is your chance."

Piper sputtered before she could formulate and apology about Nat's behavior. Nate waved it off with a nervous chuckle and told her the house two doors down from his was available for them, and he'd send someone to help get furniture set up. Piper quickly left, dragging her little sister away. Nate watched them leave and sighed. Just what had he gotten himself into?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was one week later when Nate received word that Master Sergeant Shaw and two of her instructors arrived at Star Light after escorting a supply caravan loaded down with arms, ammo, and armor. Nate had asked her where it had some from, and the salty old instructor had told him of the cache they had found at the old Gunner base in the National Guard Training Yard. It was enough to fit not only the current group of Minutemen they had, but three more squads worth as well. Nate was highly impressed and he, Shaw, and Preston sat inside the conference room, going over how things would work and what direction Nate planned for the Minutemen.

"Gotta say General. Hell of a way to spread the news by kicking those damn vultures out of here. From the unmarked graves in the hills, it looked like one hell of a fight."

Nate smiled at how military like Ronnie Shaw was. With her back, and hopefully in agreement with what Nate had planned, the next crop of Minutemen would be a force to reckon with.

"That it was Master Sergeant." He agreed. "As much as I appreciate your praise, we have more important matters to discuss."

"I'm guessing training of the new pups. From scuttlebutt I've heard, you're a pre war Marine. I did a little digging and I like what I was able to find on how you and your guys were trained. Tough yet effective." She looked him right in the eye. "I retired last time because of how I trained my men. Becker, while a good leader, didn't agree and told me I need to be easier on the new guys."

"And I'll agree that it was a mistake on General Becker's part to lower the standards." Preston stated. "but to be fair, we needed the numbers. Damn Enclave Remnant mauled us to hell before we were able to exterminate them."

Nate snapped his gaze to Preston. He recognized the name Enclave. The President had instituted them about a decade before the bombs fell as a way to continue the US Government in the event of nuclear war. If they were still around...Nate had a duty to contact them, but he wanted to hear out Preston. From what he could gather, the Minutemen wouldn't have marched to war with out a damn good reason. Both Shaw and Preston noticed the harsh expression on his face and it clicked in both their heads that they had just admitted to wiping out the remains of a government that Nate had served, and hadn't fully explained how twisted they had become.

"Explain." He ordered.

Shaw began, explaining how around ten years ago, they'd heard rumors of an organization called the Enclave making an appearance in the DC area. With those stories came the terrible rumors of human experimentation and mass shootings of civilians by people who claimed to be the US Government. Word had been that they had been locked in battle with an unknown group operating out of the Pentagon and had lost a major battle at some Air Force base. The Remnant as Shaw explained, retreated into the Commonwealth and immediately began to prove the rumors they heard true. The commanding General of the Minutemen, General Becker, had sounded the call to arms for his men. Unfortunately for the Minutemen that while their old single shot laser muskets, phased out not long into the war for the multi charge variant used now, were decent for dealing with disorginized raiders and the occasional Stupid Mutant, were completely ineffective against the power armor and plasma weapons employed by the Remnant. The only saving grace they had, was that the Minutemen at the time numbered at around three hundred compared to the one hundred or so Enclave troops that they fought with. But even with the Enclave destroyed, The Minutemen were down to fifty troops left, which included Shaw and Preston who was still a wet behind the ears pup as Shaw called him. The only reason they had for why the Enclave had retreated came from a dying Captain in the Remnant that only spoke of "The Lone Wanderer." To them it had sounded like some kind of Wasteland legend, but others had spoke of this man with reverence, almost as if he was the last best hope for humanity.

Nate took all of this in and sat in silence for several minutes. The two in front of him knew that he had every right to just walk away from them. Despite what was done by the Enclave had been ethically and morally wrong from so many different points, he still had a duty to the US and her people.

"I understand. And as much as I hate to know what the US Government became, I also know that it is the duty of the citizens to keep said government in check. From what you've told me, they crossed too many lines to be allowed to continue existing." He rose from his chair and took a look out of the window, looking at the small group of eight civilians, aged 16 to 37, huddled by the barracks. "So. Where do we go from here?"

Shaw seemed to be the first to answer.

"We start training these new recruits in the old ways. Get them ready to fight and win. Not merely fight and hold out till you can run away like a dog caught shittin in your boots."

"We also need to think about the big picture here as well." He noted. "Try to reform the CPG. If they have a strong backing, we can stabilize the Commonwealth and bring peace to all of us suffering out here."

"For that, we need a strong Military. We need to be able to clear out the threats here first before focusing our attention outward. The CPG feel apart like a wet paper bag because Becker was too damn proud to agree to the CPG's authority." Shaw reminded the younger man.

"If we do this...if we decide to bring back this CPG you two are talking about...we need to rethink how we operate." Nate observed as he watched one of the instructors that came with Ronnie bark orders at the recruits.

"How so General?" Shaw asked, curiosity on her weathered face.

"First off, our ground training. Our squads need to know where they fall under in the rank structure. That means everyone while on duty stays completely professional." He started as he made his way back to the desk. "Second, we need some way to fund our forces. Good will only gets you so far."

Preston grimaced. It had been one of the many problems brought up before the near extinction of the Minutemen. Many had left simply because they needed to support their families. Preston had no idea how to get funds for them to pay their people. Thankfully, arms and ammunition had never really been an issue, and with Ronnie's capture of the Gunners' supply cache, they had more weapons and even combat armor. Things that at one point would have been and still were, prohibitively expensive.

"What about that pure water you have up in Sanctuary?" Ronnie asked.

Nate gestured to her to continue.

"See if some of those caravans can start a water trade of sort. Also wouldn't hurt of you for now you offered the men and their immediate family free room and board there. It'd be a benefit for them to join up until we can get caps flowing through the ranks."

"It's not a bad idea General. Lot of people would join up for at least a chance of a consistent meal." Preston agreed.

"Well, that can help out with number two on the list. We also need to find a faster means of transportation to and from trouble spots. From what you both told me, the biggest problem when facing the Enclave were squads getting ambushed on their way to reinforce other pinned down squads."

Both nodded grimly and Preston had a thought on it.

"Maybe...maybe we can get Sturges to look at some of the old Army APCs just rusting around the Commonwealth. See if he can't get them running."

A memory popped into Nate's head and he almost cursed himself for forgetting it.

"There is an Old APC up by Vault ran on similar fusion reactors as the later series power armor. They're EMP hardened, but not immune." Nate brought up.

"That's a good start. Those old APCs could seat every soldier we have just in one."

"What about those Enclave Vertibirds?" Preston asked.

Shaw shook her head.

"No good. Bastards locked them down. Besides, we have no one who can fly one." She reminded him.

Preston sighed.

"It's a good idea none the less. We can at least secure the area for now. I'm sure maybe some Ghouls from before the War know how to fly them."

"What's the next issue General?"

"Actually getting combat ready squads into the wasteland to do their jobs."

"Which ties in with number one. I'll leave the two of you to the rank restructuring. Before I go greet my new victims, I only have one question sir." Shaw rose to her feet.

"And what is that Master Sergeant?"

"You want them trained right or trained soft?"

Nate smirked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Master Sergeant, I believe you know my answer to that."

Preston felt sorry for the new recruits from the downright evil look that crossed Master Sergeant Ronnie Shaw's face. She hadn't survived this long by being soft and she had been trained by an old Ghoul Marine herself.

"The Right way it is, sir."

* * *

 **Yup. The Minutemen tangled with the Enclave after you run their asses out of DC. I have plans in play for this story line, so have faith. I always was bugged how the Fallout Universe really didn't flow to well together, but if you think about it, with the distance between coasts, it'd make sense that say the Courier (A mailman with a grudge and a gun) hadn't heard of the Lone Wanderer, but why is there no mention of um in Fallout 4? Surely is the Wasteland Survival Guide got up north, then rumors of a Wasteland Legend would have made if to the Commonwealth as well. Anyway, enough rant. Next chapter will be longer as well, its gonna deal with the growth of the Minutemen and dealing with Nate's hunt for his son. Expect a dream or nightmare to start the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Nate leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It had been six weeks since his last meeting with Shaw and her team of instructors. In that six weeks, the new group of recruits had begun to finally show the fruits of their training. He, Preston, and Shaw had hashed together a training regimen that was hoped to turn these raw recruits into a well rounded military squad. Shaw had wanted to do a full thirteen week training cycle, something Nate shivered at as he remembered his own initial training, while Preston had campaign a four week cycle that had always been the standard for the Minutemen. Nate had to sigh at the stubbornness of the man. On one hand, he seemed to agree that they needed to change how they handle things. Evolve as Nate as put it. On the other, he clung stubbornly to the traditions and hadn't liked when Shaw had pointed out just what had happened by sticking to tradition and not changing to suit the circumstance. Nate agreed with her on that but not on the training time, opting for a ten week program, focusing on weapons training, small unit tactics, and advanced war fighting tactics, a plan already formulating in his mind for these new recruits to be the next generation of the Officer corps for the Minutemen.

Nate took one more glance at the paperwork on his desk and decided to get some fresh air. He made sure to shut his door and began a short walk around the settlement, his eyes taking in all the changes over the past few weeks. Using the over abundance of scrap, Sturges and his new best friend Codsworth, had gathered some of the newer inhabitants and had begun construction of a metal wall around Sanctuary, leaving the bridge as the only way in. He could see guard posts along the perimeter manned with only a few unfinished sections of the wall near the river bank. Nate had to admit that with the wall in place, or at least mostly, they would be able to place the turrets more effectively at the only entry point, allowing over lapping fields of fire. Nate had questioned Sturges, wondering if the turrets could stop a mutant that wanted to get in.

"Maybe not stop them outright, but it'd make it easier for the guards to kill the big green idiots."

That didn't fully put his mind at ease, but he did drop the subject. His walk took him around the cul-de-sac and past the play ground were the children were playing. He did notice that his favorite papergirl seemed to be off to the side, not interacting with the others near her age. Deciding to make a detour, Nate walked over to Nat and sat down beside her, causing her to look at him in confusion.

"So why are you over here and not over there?" Nate asked.

Nat looked at the group of kids and sighed.

"I don't know. I guess I'm still used to other kids steering clear of me."

"And why would that happen?" Nate questioned.

"Well, because my sis runs a newspaper. Most parents tell their kids to stay away from us in case they end up in the paper."

Nate gave an understanding nod, looking out over the playground.

"Well Nat, I can see where you're coming from. But I have a question for you. Have you even asked if you could join in?" He pointed out.

He saw the look of realization on her face that she wouldn't know until she asked.

"See? You can't always assume people won't like you kiddo." Nate explained, remembering a similar conversation his own father had with him when he was a kid. "You just need to have the courage to talk to them. You never know until you try."

Nat looked over the kids before she thanked him and headed off to join the other kids. Nate watched her approached as did the other kids. He couldn't hear what was being said, but seeing a young boy with dark skin nod to her told him all he needed to know. He smiled as he watched Nat join the other kids in their game as he heard the approach of another person.

"Mind if I join you Blue?"

Nate smiled and nodded to Piper, who promptly took the spot Nat had just vacated not even moments before. She watched her sister laugh and play with the others and felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And it was all thanks to a simple conversation Nat had with the man next to her.

"You're pretty good with people aren't you?" She asked.

"I just know how to speak from experience." He answered. "So how can I help the older Wright sister today?"

He remembered the last time she had asked for his help, and that was dealing with her printing press that had been given to her working. Apparently, the folks down at Abernathy had been using it to seal a hole in the floor, the only part that had been wood, that mole rats had chewed through a few years back. A few bags of concrete had fixed it and they'd given it to him as a thanks as they had no other use for it. He was grateful for Sturges and his own skill from working on classic internal combustion engines. He'd never be able to build a a fusion reactor, or build a laser from scratch, but if it had a motor in it, he could most likely fix it. After all, near the end of the Resource War, most troops had become adept at field repairs on their gear. Piper felt her cheeks warm up slightly, as they had been prone to do when ever she was near Nate, but who could blame her for having a crush on the man who had saved her life?

"Well, to be honest, you've already helped me with something that's been bugging me for awhile." She sighed, turning her hazel green eyes back to the sight of her little sister acting like a kid again. "I've had this fear for awhile that Nat would...well become me."

Nate cocked an eye brow at her, curious as to where this was going. It had been a few weeks since they'd last talked and every time between then and now, she'd have some reason to leave as quickly as she could.

Nate feigned a shocked gasp.

"Oh no. The world can't handle two Piper Wrights!"

"Very funny Blue." She laughed before her face became serious again. "But in a way, she seemed to be becoming me."

"How so?" He asked her, seeing the fear in her face.

"I haven't seen her act like a kid since we moved to Diamond city. I was starting to get scared she'd take up after her big sis. Dodge gunshots from people she's pissed off. Not exactly a safe and happy life." Piper explained. "I was wondering if I just needed to give her space ya know? Maybe if I wasn't around so much...well maybe she'd go back to sweet innocent Nat."

Nate understood exactly what was going through Pipers head and placed a hand on her shoulder. The young woman locked her eyes on him, surprised with his gesture.

"Piper, running off and leaving Nat to her own devices will just back fire on you. You can't control the kind of person she'll become." He grinned at her. "Family is important Piper. It's what keeps us going when we want to give up. You just need to be there for her and to love her. And sweet and innocent doesn't fit your little firecracker of a sister." Nate teased, remembering very well how the girl had been hinting that Nate should get together with her sister.

Piper placed her hand on over Nate's and gave a small smile before she looked back at her little sister now playing tag with the other kids.

"You're right. She's the only person I have left to love." She closed her eyes, keeping the tears that had started to well up at bay. "It's just been the two of us for so long that I have this fear I raised her wrong. That I set her up for failure. You've seen how unforgiving this world is."

"You can't think that. Not for a second. From what I can see, she's a good kid." Nate removed his hand from Piper's shoulder, feeling his own face warm slightly. An idea though, popped into his head.

"How would you like to come with me and Preston to Starlight this Friday? Give you a scoop on the new way we're training the Minutemen." He offered.

Piper's whole demeanor became hopeful as she faced him once more.

"Really? You'd let me write an article about your training?"

Nate nodded, finding it hard not to lock his gaze on her for too long, least he send the wrong signals. He freely would admit that Piper had become a good friend, and had been instrumental in getting the word out that the Minutemen were on the rise again. He didn't want to hurt her if she read too much into it. He mentally frowned at the thought of even being with some one again. He still felt the ache at the lose of Nora and working on tracking down Shaun and getting the Minutemen back on track had helped him to work through most of it. Why was he even thinking about this? He didn't like Piper as more than a friend. He was sure she was of the same mindset. He just happened to forget just what effect a man in power could have on a woman he rescued, nor the similarity Piper had to Nora.

"Well it couldn't hurt." He stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Your paper has already helped with getting people interested in joining up. We've already have another thirty recruits waiting to start their training."

"An exclusive on our boys in blue." She giggled. "Not a decent headline but I'm sure I'll come up with something."

Nate couldn't help but smile back at her as the cheerful and dazzling smile once more appeared.

"Thanks Blue. You're a hell of a friend. Sure don't make them like you anymore."

"You're welcome kid. Now, I need to finish up my paperwork before tomorrow, otherwise Preston will bug me with another settlement that's asking for help."

"But doesn't he handle the aid requests?" Piper asked, remembering the interview she had done with the two of them last week.

Nate little out a small chuckle.

"Yeah well, if I slack on paperwork, he offers to do it if I deal with dispatching our single squad of men to trouble spots. Never thought Preston could be creepy." He shuddered, very much creeped out with how Preston would inform him of another settlement needing assistance with that damned smirk of his.

Piper laughed before Nate rose to his feet.

"Thanks again though Blue. It's nice to have someone to talk to."

"Anytime Piper. My door is always open."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nate looked at the Recruits with a critical eye as they stood ramrod straight. He was impressed with the military discipline that had been instilled into these kids in such a short time, but then again, it was to be expected. Beside him, Preston also looked over the recruits, a look of thoughtfulness on his dark features.

"So. Master Sergeant Shaw. Who of these recruits is the squad leader?" He asked casually, his gaze never leaving the squad in front of him.

"Recruit Rodriguez! Front and center!" Ronnie barked.

A young woman, nineteen at most stepped forward. Nate took in her appearance. Not very tall, maybe sitting at 5' 2", her Hispanic decent plan as the sun in the sky. Nate would admit that she was attractive with a slim face, brown eyes and full lips and her dark hair tucked neatly under her cover. Slim frame and Nate would bet not even weighing one ounce over a buck ten. Her face held a tinge of nervousness.

"Recruit Rodriguez reporting as ordered! Sir!" She snapped off with military precision.

"At ease Recruit." Nate looked over the squad once more before turning his gaze back to the young woman in front of him. "How ready do you think your squad is?"

The young woman seemed to hesitate in answering, leaving Nate to wait for her response. He was content to let her think it over and give an honest answer, but apparently, the five seconds it had taken so far was too long for Ronnie.

"You gonna answer the General Recruit? Or stand there and fail to look pretty?" She barked out.

Nate had always been fearful of female drill instructors. They were usually a hell of a lot meaner than the males were. It seemed to have an effect of the young woman, who gulped before answering.

"Sir! This recruit believes she and her squad are ready to protect the Commonwealth, sir!"

"That so huh? Do all of you agree with her? No one will be punished if they think otherwise." Nate took a long look at each of them.

One of them, a man in his late twenties with a light complexion and close cropped sandy blonde hair stepped forward.

"Sir, this squad is ready sir. We're ready to do our families proud sir!"

Nate smiled at the kid.

"Well said recruit. You all have done well so far in your training. Master Sergeant Shaw has kept me up to date on how far you have come." He paused letting that sink in before he continued. "You still have one month of training left before you will officially become Minutemen. Colonel Garvey will be taking over for this phase of your training. You will be trained in how to operate in the field. From how to fight in the confines of an urban battle, to open terrain. You will be moving from here at Starlight, to the old Red Rocket up near Sanctuary for this phase. Colonel?"

Preston stepped forward, his signature duster worn over the combat chest piece that Nate had to almost pull his teeth to get him to wear, and turned to Ronnie, both with precise military snap and pop.

"Master Sergeant Shaw, as of 0900 today, I officially relieve you of command for Training Squad zero zero one."

Ronnie saluted Preston.

"I stand relieved Colonel." She turned and marched off towards the main office that had been built into the projector tower, planning to enjoy the weekend off before her next batch of recruits arrived Sunday night from the National Guard Training yard.

"Colonel, I'll take my leave now."

Preston gave Nate a crisp salute that the General returned before walking off the parade deck made of concrete and metal and joining Piper to the side. The reporter was watching the ceremony with awe as Preston began barking orders at the recruits to gather their packs and to meet him back on the parade deck in ten minutes, with rifles loaded for the hike to Red Rocket.

"Is this how they trained you back in the day Blue?" She asked.

Nate snorted.

"Hell no. The training I went through was twelve weeks of hell followed by a single week of not so much hell. Followed by another three months of hell." He told her. "The training we put these guys through here is a cross between the US Army training and US Marine training. It's a hybrid style that will have a few bumps in the road that need ironed out, but from what Master Sergeant Shaw has stated, it will make the Minutemen much more effective."

Piper nodded, jotting down the quote before asking her next question.

"Some people will ask why you are using Starlight as a training center instead of the old training yard. Can you shed some light on that?"

"The Training yard is currently not ready to field as a training center until repairs can be made to it. I'd like to eventually switch the training program for the first few weeks being run out of there, with Starlight still used for weapons training." Nate answered.

"And where does the Red Rocket come into play?"

Nate paused and tried to think of how best to answer.

"With Concord being relatively abandoned, it presents the perfect place for these guys to learn how to properly engage a hostile force in street to street combat. It also always them to train in different approach tactics and defensive strategies. Once we start sweep out the wild life and raiders infesting the cities of the Commonwealth, we can then focus on actually rebuilding our world in peace and safety."

He was thankful Piper wasn't a pushy reporter...well at least not as pushy as she could have been.

"I see. And what about the rank structure? I over heard you and Preston discussing it last week."

"For now, we'll be using the Army ranking system. Once everything has settled, we'll start looking to do specialized training for other areas we are considering, such as an Air Force if we can get people trained to operate Vertibirds or even a Navy to fend off hostile attackers at sea."

"Do you intend to bring back the old branches from the now defunct US Military?"

Nate frowned at her wording but knew she was right in her choice of words.

"In a sense, yes. The Commonwealth needs a well rounded military to help defend her and her people from harm. There are benefits to it as well, such as air lifts to bring goods and materials to the many settlements around the Commonwealth. Or an effective quarantine of the hostile wildlife in the Glowing Sea." He explained.

"So in essence, your goal for the Commonwealth Minutemen is for them to become the Shield and Sword of the Commonwealth." She summed up, jotting a few notes on her pad of paper.

"Yes. Everyone has seen what it's been like with them gone. It is my hope to rebuild them stronger and better than before."

Piper smiled and finished writing her notes, flipping the book shut with a sharp snap. She watched as Preston began marching his new squad out of Starlight and headed off towards the Red Rocket. She felt hope in her heart at the sight.

"I have to say Blue, this is very promising. The Minutemen rising back up to beat the darkness back again." She snuck a quick glance at him, dark green combat armor glistening in the sun light. "Hope is something the Commonwealth hasn't had in a long time, but now, I feel it in my heart."

"Oh uh, thanks." Nate sputtered, caught off guard by her statement. "To be honest, I felt I had a duty to make this a safer place. Once I get my son back, I'd like to make sure this becomes a place where he can grow up and live, not just exist. The Minutemen have always tried to do that, and now, I think we'll succeed."

"I'm sure you will Blue. Now, how about we get something to eat. I'm starving!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nate blinked in surprise at the map, not sure he had heard Sturges right. Behind them on the road sat the APC Sturges had been fighting with for weeks to get to run. The first report he had gotten had been extremely hopeful as the systems seemed to be in decent shape, and that the on board fusion reactor was responding to the initial charge from the Fusion Core. The part that had taken him so long was by passing the security software that still had the thing in full lock down. Sturges had spent damn near eighteen hours a day for two weeks before he managed to find and remove the security system from the vehicle, but in doing so, managed to cut the power from the system. Hearing the stream of curses from the man had been entertaining, but Nate had asked him why he hadn't asked for any information he had. He could have warned Sturges about the redundancy built in to prevent theft. So instead, the Mechanic had come at the problem a different way and asked Codsworth to connect to the software in hopes he could break the encryption for them. The fact that his back up systems would prevent him from being disabled would be the key. It had taken three days, but it had worked. And now, the once dormant troop carrier was now ready and able to fulfill it's role once more. But that wasn't what was on Nate's mind as his eyes looked between the two red circles on the map, each at different points of the Commonwealth.

One was the old Weston Water Treatment plant, the other Nate knew was the Revere Satellite Array near the coast. Both were large, well dependable locations but only one was feasible for them to tack at the moment. He'd rather not risk going through Lexington until he had at least two more APCs up and running, which he needed to location them first, and a whole company of troops to deal with the Ferals and Raiders that were warring over the city. He remembered asking about the city, specifically how many ghouls were left, and wasn't very happy with knowing over a hundred were still there. Sturges had told him it was one of the last Super Swarms in the Commonwealth as most Ferals had already been put down and the remaining Ghouls would take it upon themselves to eat a bullet should they start going Feral. The Array had it's own problems to contend with and Nate felt like slamming his head on the table.

"Are you sure this Intel is correct?"

Sturges nodded grimly.

"One hundred percent. Our boys confirmed the Array as a mutie base themselves. Turns out the big green bastards have been sending squads into Lynn Woods." Sturges told him, pointing to a spot near Salem. "Which is pretty suicidal to be honest. Place is crawling with Deathclaws from what I've heard. Think they got a nest up there."

Nate couldn't help but to palm his face. That was a pretty dangerous threat to them and he knew they'd need to clear it eventually. The APCs would help with the heavy weapons attached to them, but again, it was an area that would have to wait for now.

"What about the treatment plant? How do we know that one is on the up and up?"

"The Robots at Graygarden passed that along. They had sent a small group of Mister Handies to fix a problem with their water system for the plants. Only one had made it back to report the Mutants were there."

Well, now at least Nate knew where the mutants were operating out of. And they'd gotten confirmation as well from a passing Trader about a raider camp at the Federal Ration Supply warehouse south west of Abernathy and one at the old Corvega plant in Lexington. Four possible targets to hit. Nate grimaced as he knew this was his call. They needed to start dealing with the obstacles that stood between him, and a man named Nick Valentine Piper had told him could help with finding Shaun. Apparently, the man had never failed yet to find a missing person and was the best detective in the Commonwealth. But Nate also knew that what ever target he chose, this would be the start of a war. A War the Minutemen would wage to take back their homes and the Commonwealth from the forces that had torn it apart. He looked over his map again, marking the two other locations. The Ration Storehouse would be the best target for them with the two squads they had, but he would not pull the troops from the Training yard away, which meant he had two and a half months until he could take the place from the Raiders. His thoughts were interrupted by the approach of Codsworth and a Ghoul being escorted the Jun, a man who had shown himself to be a dependable Guard Captain for the Civilians that now watched over the growing settlement.

"Have a Ghoul here who says he knows you." Jun informed him, more than a little venom in his voice.

Nate frowned but knew where the resentment was coming from. Still, he'd need to speak with the elected civilian leader, a Mrs Judith Myers, a middle aged woman with red hair and a rather mellow temper, about sitting Jun and Marcy down to discuss their hatred of Ghouls, both Feral and Normal.

"Thanks Jun. We can handle it from here."

"Yeah. Sure." The man muttered and headed back to his post.

Nate looked the Ghoul over, seeing the standard zombie like appearance, though nowhere near as bad as the others he had seen. This one still had deep brown hair on his head. The faded and well worn leather jacket showed a few slash marks and hole in it, meaning this man had been around for some time. But Nate didn't know how this man could know him as Nate knew they hadn't met.

"I don't think we've met before."

The man before him smiled before answering in the normal raspy tone most ghouls had.

"It's understandable you wouldn't recognize me Mister Johnson." The man chuckled. "I was just a kid last time I saw you before the bombs dropped."

Nate didn't even need to think hard on what the man said, as the only child that he had seen on a somewhat daily basis was Mrs. Rosa's son. Codsworth seemed to be ever so cheery as he confirmed what Nate had suspected.

"Ineed sir. It's young William. I daresay I hadn't seen him in the last few decades."

"B-Billy? But...wait. If you survived...?" He left the question hanging in the air.

He saw the saddened expression cross the man's face. He wondered how long Billy had been alone.

"They...they're gone now. Everyone...Mister Parker, Miss Donahue...they were like me." Billy took a shuddering breath. "Mom too. But...they went feral thirty years ago. I had to lock them in a house so they wouldn't hurt anyone. I always brought them supplies. Food, water..."

"What happened Billy? What happened to them?" Nate asked softly, already having an idea.

"I put them down. They wouldn't have wanted to live like that."

Nate placed his hand on the man's shoulder, his heart going out to him. He didn't know if he could have had the strength to do what he had done, especially to his own mother. Sturges seemed to agree with Nate's thoughts.

"You did what you had to do Billy. I'm sure they would have thanked you for it."

Billy seemed to cheer up slightly, but not by much.

"What brought you back here? Where were you guys before?"

"We'd moved to a survivors camp over in Salem after the dust cleared. Some Army unit had come down from Canada, headed to DC to try to link up with any other soldiers that had made it through. It was hard on everyone. Especially when the Black Rain came." He said with a resigned tone of voice.

"Black Rain?"

Billy nodded before he took a seat that Nate gestured to.

"After the global black out from the EMP, rain finally came a week later. But the stuff was poisonous. Pure acid. I watched it melt holes in the black top and remember my Mother getting some on her hand. Nasty shit." He explained, fishing a cigarette from his pocket. "Three days it fell like a monsoon. Thankfully we a thick roof over our heads. We ended up spending six months there before the first symptoms of Ghoulification started."

Nate was very interested in hearing this, as he had wondered since hearing about Ghouls. How long did it take an such.

"Nothing really obvious at first. Reddened skin, like a sunburn, blood shot eyes. Hair loss. We thought it was radiation poisoning at first. So did the medics. A year later, well after the Army had left us to fend for ourselves, we realized that despite the fatal dose we took, we were still alive." He paused and took a drag on his smoke. "It wasn't until Mrs Donahue lost her hair and her skin began to peel away that we knew the full truth. With in ten years, we had all become what you see now. And did it hurt like a bitch when my skin started to fall off." Billy muttered, remembering the pain he had felt has the muscle tissue under his skin had become exposed to the world in several places, or when he felt his testes dissolve. That had really hurt like hell.

"Oh my God." Sturges muttered, feeling slightly ill at the thoughts of what it must have felt like. He had known enough from what others had hinted at, but to hear about it in detail? It made him feel like emptying his stomach.

"Yeah, some how I doubt God had a hand in this." Billy sardonically retorted. "I became a walking corpse because of some bastard that was button happy."

Nate had been silent, listening intently to what was being said. But he had one question, one that he hoped that Billy might have the answer to.

"Who fired first Billy? Did they...did the Unit you found have any information?"

The dark chuckle that Billy let out made a shiver run up Nate's spine.

"You're just going to love this." He leaned forward, no amusement on his face with a grin, looking truly frightening. "It was Vault-Tec."

Nate felt like a huge hammer had slammed into his chest as his mind whirled with the simple statement. He felt a sudden lightheadedness and forced his mouth to move, more questions flooding his mind then he could possible ask in one breath.

"What?"

The humorless chuckle masked the hatred Billy had for the now destroyed company.

"The bastards had sunk billions of dollars in funds into the vaults. A huge investment that had looked more and more like it was wasted. Think about it Mister Johnson." Billy explained. "The US had started to pump out fusion powered cars that no longer needed any gas to run. It was starting to alleviate the fuel problem and would have allowed us to completely become free of our need for oil. If the bombs hadn't been launched, the War would have ended eventually once we started to sell the new power system to other major powers in the world, effectively ending the threat of a Nuclear War. And what would that have done to the Vault Program. Hmm?" Billy ended rhetorically.

It all clicked in Nate's head. All the pieces from why they unleashed such unholy destruction upon the world to how it had all started. And it came back to the people that Nate so wished he could slaughter in ways that would make a Deathclaw run in fear.

"Those...those bastards! They launched the first missile!" Nate growled out.

Billy nodded in confirmation.

"Yup. From what the Army guys said, it looked like they'd done it just so the vaults would serve a purpose and make them look good once everyone came out of the shelters. They'd be the big heros of the world. Load off bullshit."

The three of them went silent, one learning about a truly horrible fact that he wished he could just forget. The other two seething in hatred at a company that had put on a concerned face for their safety yet poised a knife to strike them in the back at the same time. Nate calmed himself, taking several minutes to do so and rose to his feet, his eyes looking out to the Gates of Sanctuary that the inhabitants had begun to cal the bridge.

"I guess it all makes sense. But we can't do anything about it now. Sturges, radio Preston. Let him know I'll be dropping by the outpost tomorrow evening. After that, try to get some sleep."

"Will do General." The mechanic hurried from the table, still pale at what he'd learned.

"Codsworth, pull out the spare bed at the house." He looked to Billy as the man finished his smoke. "Billy, you are welcome to stay at my place until we can sort out a more permanent living arrangement for you."

The man nodded his thanks.

"Appreciate it. Been a while since I've slept on a bed."

"What about you sir? What are you going to be doing this evening?" Codsworth asked.

Nate shrugged his shoulders before he began walking off towards the Bar that was only partially finished in it's construction.

"Think I'll go get shit faced buddy. It's not every day you learn that someone destroyed the world just for shits and giggles."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Night had rolled in two hours ago, and Nate found himself not caring about anything at the moment, his mind still numb from the bombshell that had been dropped by Billy. He felt his rage bubbling up once more at the thought of Vault-Tec. A rage that only worsened as he knew he'd never be able to take revenge on them. Everything that had happened to him since that day...his wife's death and his son's kidnapping...it wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for Vault-Tec. The sick bastards had done more than just use them as lab rats, but had actually in an insane sense of fulfillment, actually trigger a nuclear holocaust. He took another swig of the beer on front of him, draining the bottle and placing it with the other ten empty ones. Damned if he didn't need something stronger, but the Bar keep, the Old Man that totted the .44 like it was a precision laser, hadn't been able to get a shipment of hard liquor yet and wouldn't be able to until they managed to secure a route to Diamond City.

The Old Man looked upon Nate with his knowing gaze, and walked over to him, another beer ready for the drunken Marine.

"Lady troubles?" He asked in his grizzly voice.

Nate laughed.

"If you count your wife being six feet under because of some jackass with hard on for a nuclear war, than yes." Nate bitterly replied, accepting the beer and fishing out a few caps in payment.

The Old Man waved it off.

"It's on the house. You wanna talk about what's got you ass end deep in a bottle?"

Nate looked up at the Old Man, who had leveled his green eyes on Nate. This man was still unknown to him, but Nate couldn't help but trust him. Like the feeling you had when you served with someone for so long, you knew they had your back.

"I'll tell you if you tell me about you first. I really don't know anything about you." Nate slurred out somewhat. "Especially how you're such a good shot with a revolver."

The Man chuckled and ran a hand through his graying hair, his tan complexion looking even darker in the minimal lighting of the bar, before taking a seat beside Nate and grabbing a beer for himself.

"Suppose that's fair." He took a sip of his own beer before he began. "I'm from out west. San Francisco to be precise. Grew up in Shady Sands in the New California Republic. Used to be a Ranger." He explained.

"That's the same NCR that Preston mentioned to me a couple months ago? The one the CPG tried to imitate?"

"The very same. It's as close to being old world as you can get. They try to keep everything moving along just like it used to. But they've had a few hiccups last I heard. Barely managed to win their War with Caesar's Legion back in '81 if rumor is to be believed."

Nate became confused at that. He asked about this Legion the Old Man had mentioned and saw a dark look cross his face. He explained to Nate how the Legion had formed, basing a lot of their culture on the Old Roman Empire that had once spanned across the European Nations hundreds of years ago. How they were nothing more than slavers and mercenaries hell bent on taking over the the south west. They had left the Texan Republic alone after a rather horrible fight with them, losing hundreds of men in a foolish attack on Amarillo in '76. The Old Man told Nate about the the battls at the Hoover Dam in Nevada, how the NCR had come to claim it in partnership with New Vegas, a community built up in the Vegas Strip by Mister House.

"Wait a minute. Mister Robert House? CEO and owner of RobCo? How the hell can he still be alive?" Nate questioned with disbelief, thoughts of any kind of stasis not crossing his alcohol altered mind.

The old man shrugged, sipping the fermented drink.

"Not sure. Never cared to ask."

He continued his tale, telling Nate of his trip to the east, and how he ended up in The Capital Wasteland in the spring of '77. That is where the tale became stranger, as Nate was now learning first hand about the Lone Wanderer that he'd been told was just a wasteland legend. The Old Man talked about coming across the kid a few times, lending a hand with a well placed shot when it was needed. How he never hung around long enough for the kid to confront him. As far as the old man was concerned, he was just doing the right thing and lending some help. Nate wondered about why the man never talked to the kid and even asked him.

"To be honest, I've always been that way. Even when I moved into Montana for a while before heading back to the NCR, my wife had always said I was too mysterious for my own good and that my boy would think I was a stranger if I didn't open up to them." He mused, sorrow on his face. "I never really did. Not before the town we were in was attacked. Never did find out if they survived.

"Why not?" Nate asked, his heart going out to the man both in sympathy and understanding.

"Don't rightly know son. Guess I was afraid to find out. If they were dead, I'd be just as miserable. And to to be honest, if they did live, they would do better with out me. I wasn't a very good husband or father."

"Family is important Old Man. Maybe you should find out. Finally put it to rest." Nate encouraged.

"Maybe. It'll probably be impossible to find out now though."

"You won't know until you try."

The pair continued talking, the Old Man telling him about some of the impressive feats the boy had pulled off in the Capital Wasteland. Even told Nate about the Brotherhood of Steel, both the history and demise of the Western Chapter and the story of the Eastern Chapter. He explained that unlike the West, the Brotherhood in DC had been a force for good. They had tried so very hard to protect the people there that the Old Man had felt hope that the world was finally starting to head back down the right path. But then, back to back blows sent the Brotherhood back into the old mindset the West had. Once the Lone Wonderer, a high ranking member, and the Elder, a Sarah Lyons had be pronounced as Killed In Action, the new Elder, a direct descendant of one Captain Roger Maxson.

"The one that was stationed at Mariposa? I knew him. Good guy but fairly extreme in his reactions to bad news." Nate quipped, starting on his twelfth beer.

The Old Man agreed and told about how the newest Maxson had turned his back on the people of the Capital Wasteland. In disgust at the turn of events, which included the forceful and deadly seizure of the nuclear reactor of Rivet City, the Old Man had left Washington DC and made a home for himself in the Commonwealth as a protector of sorts.

"And that's my story."

Nate felt awestruck at what he had just heard.

"That's one hell of a tale."

The Old Man nodded in agreement as more people began to arrive, the day having officially ended for the guards.

"Looks like you'll have to tell me about your story some other time." The Old Man stated before he spotted a familiar face headed towards the now drunk General. "Or find a pretty lady to talk to." He commented with a wink before heading over to his new customers.

"Fancy seeing you here Blue."

Nate turned his head and saw an exhausted Piper dropping into the chair next to him. She motioned towards one of the unopened bottle in front of him. Nate passed it over to her, which she accepted gratefully before popping the top off and taking a good size chug of the beer.

"Ah...nothing like a nice cold beer to top off a long day." She muttered.

"You could say that. Long line at the presses?"

"You have no idea." She told him with a radiant smile that once more seemed to warm his heart. "We've had so many new subscription requests that it's hard for me to keep up. I'm thinking about hiring on a few others to help keep up with the work load."

"Running a paper by yourself is definitely hard work."

"Especially when you get such juicy scoops that you've been giving me." She stated, taking a smaller swig of the fermented beverage. "I gotta find some way to thank you Blue. I'm gonna start thinking of you as my best friend from now on."

Nate knew, logically that he needed to respond in a friendly manner. But for some damn reason, his mouth completely bypassed the filter between it and his brain.

"Just your friend huh?"

The reaction was immediate as Piper began to sputter and her cheeks reddened at the unasked question. Was he truly flirting with her or was it the booze talking?

"Uh well, yeah." She began, her face reddening even more. "I guess I thought so. Did it just get hot in here?"

Nate chuckled, leaning back and looking over to the flustered young woman, who looked to be attempting to drown herself fairly well as she hadn't brought the bottle back down yet. The more logical voice was slowly fading into the back of his mind as his inhibitions began to melt away from the beer in his system.

"It sounds to me like you're interested in being more than a friend. And don't deny it because the red face gives it away." Nate noted, sipping the newest beer placed in front of him by the Old man.

He didn't fail to notice the nod of approval he had gotten, but he wasn't sure what the approval had been for. He also didn't fail to notice the embarrassed look that crossed her face. Sure she had a crush on him, who wouldn't? He was courageous and honest, and he was doing his damnedest to make the world safer for everyone.

"Blue, what about your wife?" She asked, almost instantly regretting it once see saw the flash of pain on his face.

She knew he was still getting over her death and felt like kicking herself for opening her big fat mouth. It had been an almost instinctive thought, but she hadn't meant to voice it. She saw his demeanor get icy and he abruptly rose to his feet before tossing a bag of caps on the table and took a hard look at Piper.

"You're correct Miss Wright. I should be honoring my promise to her by finding and bringing my son back home where he belongs. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. Have a pleasant evening."

With that, the General of the Minutemen marched out of the bar and into the night, leaving a miserable Piper to curse her stupidity. She couldn't believe herself and wanted nothing more than to scream in frustration as the Old Man came over, concern on his face.

"What happened?" The kind Old Man asked.

And the tears came.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nate racked the slide on his rifle, still drunk, and readied himself to head out. He took one last look around his house as Codsworth drifted into the front room.

"Keep the house safe buddy." Nate ordered him, heading towards the door.

"May I ask where you are going sir?"

Nate stopped in the door way and lied to his oldest friend.

"I'm going to join Garvey and the recruits. Figured a mock attack would put a spin of realism on their training."

And with that, he walked out of the house and passed by Jun, giving the man a short nod and the same excuse he'd fed Codsworth. Jun watched him leave in the general direction of The Red Rocket and didn't even think to question his departure, something that he would later regret. The next morning, a glumly looking Piper made her way to Nate's home. She would have went last night, but seeing how much she had upset him, she'd figured it be best to wait until the next day, when he would hopefully be sober. She knocked briefly and waited, wringing her hands in anticipation and was depressed to see Codsworth answer the door. The Robot Butler seemed generally surprised to see her.

"Ah, Good morning Miss Wright. How can I be of service today?"

"Hey Codsworth." She greeted, the tone of sadness clear as a bell to him. "Um...is, uh, is Nate up yet?"

Codsworth felt confusion pass through his circuits.

"Master Johnson hasn't been home since last night. I believe he said he would be joining Colonel Garvey and the recruits at the Red Rocket." Codsworth told her, feeling fear creep in that perhaps his friend had not done or been supposed to do what he had said he would.

Piper for her part felt her stomach fall through the floor.

"No. No he wouldn't. Not until the last week." She thought aloud, her mind going over everything she remembered from the training schedule Nate had told her about, off the record of course.

"Oh dear. Then I have no idea where he is. Perhaps one of the guards saw him leave?"

Piper nodded and the pair headed to the main gate where Jun was turning over watch to the day shift.

"Hey Piper. Codsworth. What's wrong?" He asked, noticing the look on Piper's face.

"Mister Long, did Master Johnson leave Sanctuary last night?" Codsworth queried.

Jun nodded, confused as to why they wanted to know.

"Yeah. Said he was joining Garvey down the road. Why?"

Piper shared a look with Codsworth that immediately put Jun on alert.

"Hey now. What's with the gaggle over here. Our resident reporter working on another article?" Sturges teased as he came over to the group from his own little home.

"Nate's gone Sturges. Left last night." Piper told him, guilt coursing through her very being.

If he was hurt or dead, it would be her fault. Sturges furrowed his brow, knowing full well that Nate wouldn't just walk out. And he'd heard about what happened at the bar but knew it was just am accident that set him off. But still, if Codsworth was concerned, Sturges was concerned.

"He saw where he was going?" He listened to them as they explained Nate's supposed destination and saw an easy way to find out. "Well let's give Garvey a quick call. He'll be able to tell us."

The four headed off towards the house nearest the bridge, one that the mayor had designated as the guard hut, and Sturges quickly called for Preston. A minute of static passed before Preston answered.

"Go ahead Sanctuary. What's the emergency?"

"Preston, it's Sturges. Seems out General has decided to take a little walk. Said he was meeting up with you guys. He there?"

The reply came back too quick for there to be any other answer than no.

"No he's not. What happened?" Preston asked, concerned.

"Little misunderstanding at the bar. Said something about getting his son back like he promised." Sturges paused before something clicked. "Shit, I know where he is headed. Preston, you need to high tail it target point three to see if you can head him off." Sturges urged, knowing damn well that the General was about to wage a one man war to break through to Diamond City.

"Understood. We'll be heading out in fifteen minutes. Any chance you can pick us up?"

"Love to but the transmission needs too much work to tempt off roading." Sturges was referring to the APC.

"Well, a little walking never hurt. We'll lock down the outpost and head out. Garvey out."

Sturges gave an explosive sigh as he leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Crazy damned bastard. Guess he still wasn't over everything that had happened yesterday." He muttered.

"May I inquire as to what you are talking about Mister Sturges?" Codsworth drifted over to him.

Sturges quickly filled them in on the revelation that had been dropped on them yesterday. Everything from the fact it was Vault-Tec, to Nate's realization that his wife's death could have been avoided if the missile had never been launched.

"See, it's not your fault Piper. I'm sure he'll tel you the same thing once we get him back. You just caught him at a very bad time." Sturges tried to comfort her.

"Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut or flirted back." She glumly stated, her mind still blaming her.

"Now that could have also ended up bad. If you'd both gone to far, it may have been an awkward wake up today." Sturges stated bluntly.

Her face reddened as she got what he was saying and tried to stammer out that she wouldn't have let it go that far and that she doubted he even thought about it. He was after all, still trying to work through the truly shitty hand fate had dealt him. Sturges chuckled before he checked the old silver pocket watch his Dad had given him when he was sixteen.

"We won't know anything about the old General for quite sometime. Best guess, around six of seven tonight, depending on if the son of a bitch goes ahead with attack the Ration Storehouse."

"Oh no." Piper's face went pale, knowing just how heavy a Raider presence was there. "He's going to end up dead and it's all my fault."

Struges awkwardly tried to help her back to her feet after she had slide to the ground from her shock. A look at Codsworth confirmed he wasn't the only one who didn't have a clue as to what to do.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Squad Zero Zero One cautiously made their way towards the rising column of smoke from the Raider camp. Preston motioned for them to hold up and gave his orders.

"Rodriguez, take Samuals and Marks around the east perimeter. And be careful." He gestured to the two young men, both in their late teens.

Samuals was the squads close weapons specialist, having shown a knack for using a shotgun. It did surprise Preston as how scrawny the black haired kid was, a shotgun should have knocked him on his back from the recoil. Marks, a cool headed kid with blonde hair, stocky build, had a taste for long range, preferring to keep the enemy beyond arms reach. The three recruits nodded and made their way around as their Colonel took the rest of them and began making his way around to the west entrance of the storehouse. Rodriguez kept herself low, and slowly crept around the hill, making sure to keep her and her men in cover the best they could. The rounded the final bend, rifles raised and ready, and saw complete destruction. Turrets were nothing more than flaming wrecks, the oily black smoke rising up into the air from the machines. Bodies were strewn around in pools of blood, or hanging over hastily constructed railings. They could see more smoke spewing from the entrance of the concrete building that lead further into the large storehouse. The young recruits swallowed their surprise and crept forward, searching for any sign of life. They could tell that the General had been here. His handy work was rather plain to see. Scorch marks on the wood, small craters from grenades, and a few guard dogs joined the scene of the battle. Rodriguez was the first to see it. See what they had been sent to find. The three recruits hustled forward, keeping in mind that there could be potential enemies still alive. But that thought didn't mater. For face down in a pool of blood laid the unmoving form of General Nathaniel Johnson.


End file.
